HC  DECORATION 

SERIES 


( ,  L )  Y 
C/.  DOG  AN 

KornnRY 


iiiiiMiw— in'i'imw 


Cbe  Bouse  Decoration  Series 


STAIRCASES   AND   GARDEN  STEPS 


THE  HOUSE  DECORATION 
SERIES 

Unijorm  with  this  Volume 

Ceilings  and  their  Decorations 
Chimneypieces  and  Inglenooks 
Staircases  and  Garden  Steps 
House  Antiquities  and  Curios 


•    ••/••     • 


•  •  ••  •••  •' 


STAIRCASE,    PARIS    GRAND    OPERA    HOUSE. 


STAIRCASES  AND 

GARDEN  STEPS 


By 

GUY  CADOGAN  ROTHERY 

II 

AUTHOR  OF 

*  CEILINGS  AND  THEIR  DECORATIONS," 

'CHIMNEYPIECES  AND  INGLENOOKS,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK 

FREDERICK  A.  STOKES  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


M  30bO 


\\  u 


PRESS  NOTICES— 

Ceilings  and  their  Decorations 

"  Is  valuable  not  only  because  it  deals  with  a  subject  of  considerable 
interest,  but  also  because,  in  treating  the  various  styles  ...  it  helps 
us  to  realise  the  inherent  defects  of  certain  modern  methods  which  we 
are  apt  to  idly  acquiesce  in"  (a).  "As  a  monograph  on  the  later  Re- 
naissance .  .  .  is  a  valuable  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  period  "  (b). 
"Well  written,  instructive  and  interesting  monograph"  (c).  "Has 
dealt  with  his  subject  in  a  pleasant  chatty  style,  and  has  imparted 
much  information  which  will  be  interesting  to  the  amateur  and  useful 
to  the  professional  artist "  (d).  "  A  very  excellent  work  "  (e ).  ' '  Should 
appeal  to  all  householders"  (/").  "  Has  studied  the  subject  to  some 
purpose"  te). 

(a)  Morning  Post,  {b)  Th$  Athenceum.  (c)  The  Connoisseur, 

id)  The  Architect.         (e)  The  Decorator.  (/)  Bookman, 

\g)  The  Builder. 


Chimneypieces  and   Ingle  Nooks 

"A  book  of  high  educational  value  "  [a).  "A  pleasing  book.  .  .  . 
We  look  forward  to  others  of  the  series"  {b).  "The  author  in  his 
earlier  book  on  '  Ceilings  '  awakened  many  of  us  to  the  beauty  or  (more 
commonly)  to  the  lack  of  beauty  in  our  own  ceilings  and  the  possibil- 
ities rhete;  .Jn.  'Chitrnioypieccs  '  he  touches  a  subject  with  an  appeal 
quickened;  byjpbetfy  anttsloryl.  4\,  The  book  as  a  whole  is  an  excellent 
one  and  will  give  the  ordinaf  y  householder  some  really  useful  deas  "  (c). 

(a)  The  Architect.         {b)  The  Builder.         {c)  Manchester  Guardian. 


PREFACE. 

In  this,  the  third  of  The  House  Decor- 
ation Series,  the  same  evolutionary  plan 
as  adopted  in  the  preceding  volumes  has 
been  adhered  to.  An  endeavour  has  been 
made  to  show  how  the  staircase  developed 
in  importance  with  the  advance  of  art, 
suffered  an  eclipse  when  architecture  was 
at  a  low  ebb,  and  now  gives  evidence  of 
receiving  renewed  attention. 

While  adopting  the  historical  form,  the 
aim  in  writing  the  book  has  been  to  point 
out  that  which  is  good  in  past  work  and 
present  tendencies,  and  that  which  is  bad, 
or  carries  the  signs  of  weakness  that  leads 
to  decadence. 

It  has  been  thought  necessary  to  add  a 
brief  glossary  of  technical  terms. 


257378 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.     EARLY  BEGINNINGS  . 
II.     THE  CASTLE  TYPE      . 

III.  SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  OF  THE  GOTHIC 

AND  RENAISSANCE  PERIODS  . 

IV.  SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  (CONTINUED) 
V.   *  STATE  AND  OTHER   STAIRCASES  OF 

THE  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE 
VI.     LATER  RENAISSANCE 
VII.     THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN 
VIII.     THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  . 
IX.     THE  BALUSTRADE       . 
X.      THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 
XI.      PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE    . 
XII.     GARDEN  STEPS  . 

GLOSSARY  .... 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  . 

INDEX  .... 


PAGE 
I 

17 

46 
6l 

77 

95 
114 

131 
148 
170 
189 
215 

233 
24 1 

247 


vii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Staircase    Hall,    Grand    Opera    House, 

Paris,  by  Charles  Gamier .        .      Frontispiece 

Spiral  Staircase,  Colchester  Castle, 
Romanesque  work  of  the  nth  cen- 
tury (From  Britton)  .         .  Facing  page  8 

Staircase  in  Roman  Amphitheatre  „         1 5 

Romanesque  Staircase,  Painted  Chamber, 
Westminster  Palace  (From  E.  W. 
Brayley) „         18 

Foot  of  Spiral  Staircase,  Castle  of  the 
Comtes    de    Dunois,     Chateaudun, 

France  (From  De  Chapuy)       .        .   „        22 

Corbelled  Steps,  Carpentras  (From  Violet 

le  Due) „        25 

Wedge-shaped  Steps,  St  Nazaire"    .        .   „        26 
Head    of    Spiral    Stairs,   Castle  of  the 
Comtes    de     Dunois,    Chateaudun, 
France  (From  De  Chapuy)       .         .   „         28 
ix 


x  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Plan  of  Stairway,  Montargis    .        Facing  page  31 

Norman  Staircase,  Round  Tower,  Wind- 
sor Castle  (From  W.  H.  Pyne)  .  „        34 

Threaded  Drum  for  Spiral  Stairs    .        .   „        36 

Spiral  Step,  with  portion  of  Newel  .   „        37 

Spiral    Step,   with    segment  of  hollow 

newel ,,38 

Gothic  Staircase,  Windsor  Castle,  by  Sir 
Jeffery  Wyatville  (From  W.  H. 
Pyne) ,,42 

External  Spiral  Staircases  :  (a)  Chateau 
de  Blois,  (b)  Old  House,  Chartres, 
(c)  Chateau  de  Chambord         .         .   „         50 

Spiral  Staircase  and  Landings,  from 
Morlaix,  France  (Victoria  and 
Albert  Museum,  South  Kensington)  „        58 

Balustrade  from  Great  St  Helens,  Lon- 
don, 17th  century  (Victoria  and 
Albert  Museum,  South  Kensington)  „        64 

Tudor  Staircase,  Godinton,  Kent  (From 

H.  Shaw) »72 

Tudor  Staircase,  Burton  Agnes  (From  C. 

J.  Richardson)  .        .        .        .   „        80 

Tudor  Staircase,  Crewe  Hall  (From  J. 

Britton) ,         88 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

Jacobean  Staircase,  Bickling  Hall,  Nor- 
folk (From  H.  Shaw)        .        Facing  page  96 

Jacobean    Staircase,     Hatfield     House, 

Herts  (From  P.  F.  Robinson)  .        .   „       104 

Rood   Loft   Stair   Screen  (Victoria  and 

Albert  Museum,  South  Kensington)   „       no 

Escalier    des   Ambassadeurs,  Versailles 

(From  Le  Fevre)      .        .        .        .   „       116 

Grand  Staircase,  Palais  Royal,  Paris       .   „       124 

Grand  Staircase,  Hampton  Court  Palace, 
by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  with  paint- 
ings by  Verrio ,,132 

Marble  Staircase,  Palazzo  Braschi,  Rome 

(From  Le  Tarouilly)         .         .         .   „       140 

Flemish  Newels,  17th  century  (Victoria 
and  Albert  Museum,  South  Kensing- 
ton)   ,,150 

Flemish  Newels,  17th  century  (Victoria 
and  Albert  Museum,  South  Kens- 
ington)       ,,156 

Balustrade  from  Great  St  Helens,  Lon- 
don, 17th  century  (Victoria  and 
Albert  Museum)       .        .        .        .   „       164 

Wrought  Iron  Balustrades,  by  Jean  Tijou   „       127 
English    Wrought    Iron    Stair    Panels 

(Victoria  and  Albert  Museum)        .   „       180 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Hall  and  Staircase,  formerly  in  Hatton 

Garden,  London        .        .     Fatting  page  186 

Staircase,  formerly  in  St  Botolph's  Lane, 
London,  17th  century  (Victoria  and 
Albert  Museum)       .        .        .        .   „       192 

Georgian    Staircase,      Trinity      House, 

Tower  Hill,  London         .        .        .   „       198 

Ground  Floor  Plan,  with  staircases, 
Palazzo  Barberini,  Rome  (From  Le 
Tarouilly)  .         .         .         .         .   „       204 

Hall  and  Staircase  (Elevation  and  Plan) 
1 8th  century  Palace,  Rome  (From  Le 
Tarouilly) ,,212 

Scala  Santa,  St  John  Lateran,  Rome      .   „      218 
Staircase   Landing,  by    M.    A.  Winter 

Rose ,      226 


STAIRCASES    AND    GARDEN 
STEPS 

CHAPTER  I 

EARLY   BEGINNINGS 

In  Babylonia,  that  wonderful  region  of  mud 
and  sun-dried  brick  buildings,  we  find  traces 
of  well-designed  stairways  dating  back  to 
at  least  circa  6000  b.  c.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  civil  engineers  and 
architects  of  those  far-off  days,  in  that 
cradle  of  civilization,  went  about  their  work 
with  considerable  deliberation.  Their  first 
care  was  to  provide  huge  platforms  of  baked 
clay,  platforms  which  were  often  staged,  and 
whereon  they  erected  a  palace,  a  temple, 
or  a  group  of  dwellings  clustering  in  orderly 
array  around  the  public  edifices.  These 
platforms  were  usually  many  feet  above  the 
ground.  For  instance,  at  Tel-lo  (Sirpula) 
the  platform  is  36  feet  high.  Not  only  were 
these  reached  by  inclined  planes,  but  also  by 
broad  ranges  of  steps.     At  Tel-lo  the  barrel- 


2    STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

vaulted  palace  standing  on  its  pedestal  about 
656  feet  long,  139  feet  broad  and  nearly  40 
feet  high,  was  approached  both  by  inclined 
planes  and  steps.  But  that  was  not  all. 
Tall  towers  of  many  stories  were  a  feature 
of  the  local  architecture,  and  these  were 
served  sometime  by  inclined  planes  winding 
heliacally  round  the  outside.  In  other 
instances  the  successive  floors  were  con- 
nected by  means  of  short  flights  of  stairs 
rising  from  storey  to  storey,  usually  clinging 
to  the  side  of  the  walls.  Both  methods 
showed  a  stage  of  constructional  art  far  in 
advance  of  those  which  gave  us  many 
types  of  staircases  still  prevailing  in  Europe 
until  well  past  the  Middle  Ages.  They 
were  methods,  however,  which  were  the 
natural  outcome  of  human  dealings  with 
far  -  stretching  flat  expanses  and  plastic 
building  materials. 

In  ancient  Egypt  outside  stairways  were 
used  for  domestic  purposes  placed  inside  the 
courts  against  the  dwellings.  Sometimes 
there  were  two  flights,  right  and  left, 
flanking  the  building  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  meeting  in  the  middle  of  the  first 
floor  on  a  common  platform.  In  many 
cases,  the  stairs,  steep  and  at  right  angles, 


EARLY  BEGINNINGS  3 

interrupted  by  frequent  small  square 
landings. 

In  other  regions  other  limitations  led  to 
the  evolution  of  quite  different  modes  of 
attacking  the  problems  of  ascent. 

Arboreal  builders,  whether  they  placed 
their  dwellings  on  platforms  above  the 
forest  undergrowth,  or  amidst  the  forked 
branches  of  trees  under  the  canopy  and 
screen  of  foliage,  resorted  to  the  ladder 
method  of  access,  suggested  by  the  inter- 
twined lianes  and  the  stepped  trunks  of 
palms,  with  their  spirally  disposed  diamond- 
shaped  butt  ends  of  fallen  leaves.  These, 
starting  from  much  the  same  point,  would 
eventually  evolve  along  quite  opposite  lines, 
as  we  shall  soon  see. 

Then  troglodyte  man  in  many  parts  of 
the  world  imitated  Nature  in  another  of 
her  moods,  turning  the  " accidental"  to  his 
own  ends.  In  all  geological  formations 
where  caverns  occur  there  is  a  tendency 
either  towards  stratification  of  rocks  or 
a  pitting  of  the  cliffs  surface,  both  of  which 
inequalities  assist  man  in  his  aspirations, 
and  may  be  improved  upon  without  much 
difficulty.  Indeed  it  is  not  alone  the  Giant's 
Causeway  in  County  Antrim,  that  presents 


4    STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

us  with  a  stairway  on  a  grandiose  scale ; 
other  basaltic  outcrops,  lime  and  chalk 
deposits  provide  the  same  lesson.  With 
practical  modesty  cave-dwellers  toilsomely 
carved  deeper  the  crevices,  systematised  the 
pittings  to  provide  foot  and  fiftger  hold, 
so  that  they  might  gain  their  rocky  refuges. 
This  primitive  step-making  of  the  Ligurian 
troglodyte  may  be  seen  on  the  Riviera, 
where  prehistoric  dwellings  are  found  on 
the  shore,  some  close  to  the  waves,  others 
high  up,  and  only  approachable  by  pre- 
cariously following  clefts  in  the  almost 
perpendicular  face,  with  occasional  assistance 
from  man-made  footholes. 

The  Pyrenees  and  Dordogne  afford 
examples  both  of  prehistoric  and  historic 
cave  -  dwellings  side  by  side.  In  M  Cliff 
Castles  "  the  Rev.  S.  Baring  Gould,  writing 
of  La  Roche  Gageac,  on  the  Dordogne 
just  below  Sarlat,  says : 

"  The  white  Pirassic  limestone  dappled 
orange,  fawn  colour,  and  silver  grey,  rises 
250  feet  above  the  river,  the  lower  portion 
is  in  terraces,  very  narrow,  in  which  are 
the  houses  clinging  to  the  rock,  cramped 
between  the  Dordogne  and  the  cliff  which 
rises  140  to  160  feet  above     The  old  houses 


EARLY  BEGINNINGS  5 

are  Echeloned  along  the  face  of  the  rock, 
superposed  the  one  on  the  other.  The 
habitations  are  either  partly  or  wholly  caves, 
they  do  not  reach  half-way  up  the  rock 
which  overhangs  to  the  west.  In  the  face 
of  the  cliff  are  two  castles  built  into  its 
recesses  :  one  pertained  to  the  Bishop  of 
Sarlat,  and  the  other  to  the  F^nelon  family. 
Both  were  ideals  of  a  stronghold  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  impossible  to  escalade  or  to 
undermine.  The  principal  castle,  that  which 
belonged  to  the  Bishop  of  Sarlat,  occupies 
one  of  the  profound  horizontal  furrows  in 
the  face  of  the  rock,  that  are  so  common 
in  the  limestone  and  chalk  formations.  It 
consists  of  three  towers,  two  of  which  are 
square,  and  one  round,  with  curtains  uniting 
them  and  a  gate-tower,  to  which  a  flight  of 
steps  cut  in  the  rock  gives  access  for  a  part 
of  the  way.  But  to  reach  this  flight  one 
has  to  mount  by  a  series  of  posts  serving 
as  steps  driven  into  sockets  in  this  rock, 
with  only  here  and  there  a  sustaining  iron 
bar." 

He  dealt  with  the  subject  even  more 
picturesquely  in  his  novel  "  Noemi,"  where 
he  tells  us  : 

"  To  make  the  position — the  eagle  nest 

B 


6     STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

in  the  rock — absolutely  inaccessible  to  an 
enemy,  the  stair  had  been  contrived  so  that 
it  could  be  wrecked  by  those  flying  up  it 
with  facility,  and  that  thereby  they  might 
cut  off  possibility  of  pursuit.  The  method 
adopted  was  this.  Holes  had  been  bored 
into  the  rock  face  in  gradual  ascent  from  the 
platform  at  the  foot  of  the  rock  to  the  gate- 
tower  of  the  castle,  nestled  on  the  platform 
in  the  precipice.  In  each  such  hole  a  balk 
or  billet  of  wood  was  planted,  sliced  away 
below  where  it  entered,  and  this  end  was 
then  made  fast  by  a  wedge  driven  under  it. 
From  each  step,  when  once  secured,  that 
above  it  could  next  be  made  firm.  To 
release  the  steps  a  tap  from  underneath 
sufficed  to  loosen  the  wedge  and  send  it 
and  the  balk  it  supported  clattering  down." 

At  La  Roche  Corail,  just  below  Angou- 
leme  on  the  river  Charente,  there  are  the 
remains  of  a  once  extensive  cliff  castle. 
Originally  it  was  approached  by  steps  cut 
in  the  face  of  the  rock,  most  of  them  having 
openings  communicating  with  internal  gal- 
leries, so  that  unwelcome  intruders  could 
be  pushed  off  with  pikes  or  swords. 

Much  the  same  practices  were  adopted  in 
other  countries  and  other  ages.     Not  only 


EARLY  BEGINNINGS  7 

so,  but  we  even  find  the  principle  adapted 
to  more  regular  forms  of  architecture,  as, 
for  instance,  when  we  see  an  outside  stair- 
way, supported  on  successive  arches  and 
clinging  to  the  castle  wall,  break  off  abruptly, 
the  void  of  the  unfinished  arch  being 
bridged  by  a  removable  wooden  platform. 

A  great  deal  of  controversy  has  raged 
about  the  subject  of  the  Round  Towers  in 
Ireland.  Although  the  reason  why  the  cir- 
cular form  (a  difficult  one  in  masonry)  was 
adopted  remains  obscure,  and  suggests  some 
observance  of  a  forgotten  religious  custom, 
their  actual  use  need  leave  no  doubt  what- 
ever. They  are  always  found  either  directly 
connected  to  or  in  close  association  with 
churches  or  monastic  buildings.  Clearly 
they  were  the  storehouses  and  places  of 
refuge  for  the  clergy  and  monks.  Windows 
are  small,  placed  high  up,  and  in  the  great 
majority  of  examples  the  doorways,  seldom 
very  large,  are  many  feet  above  the  ground. 
The  fact  that  there  are  no  signs  of  any 
means  to  reach  these  doorways  long  puzzled 
investigators,  but  it  is  evident  that  some 
rudimentary  form  of  stairs  in  wood,  probably 
little  more  than  ladders,  easily  destroyed  or 
hauled  up,  were  used.     Thus  these  Round 


8    STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

Towers  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  ecclesi- 
astic counterparts  of  the  rock  castles  and 
refuges  of  the  bishops  and  seigneurs,  the 
remains  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen  on 
the  Continent. 

Yet  another  phase  of  the  troglodyte  de- 
velopment is  to  be  seen  not  only  in  the  rock 
villages  of  the  Riviera  and  certain  parts 
of  Asia,  but  even  in  our  own  hilly  districts 
and  seaside  cliff  towns,  where  we  see  some- 
times considerable  buildings  clinging  to  the 
declivity,  each  storey  entered  from  a  separate 
level.  In  such  cases  the  need  for  stairways 
is  obviated  by  a  serpentine  road  with  branch 
approaches.  A  house  of  this  kind  looked 
at  from  the  front  may  be  said  to  have  four, 
five,  or  six  storeys,  yet  each  is  truly  a 
ground  floor,  with  its  direct  outside  com- 
munication, though  frequently  enough  with- 
out any  internal  intercommunication.  We 
may  take  Nottingham  as  an  example,  where 
the  Long  Stairs  are  cut  in  the  perpendicular 
face  of  the  rock,  reaching  from  the  old 
church  to  the  summit,  and  having  houses 
stepped  one  above  the  other,  with  access 
from  the  stairs.  The  Short  Stairs  are  alto- 
gether artificial,  and  have  houses  on  both 
sides. 


SPIRAL    STAIRCASE,    COLCHESTER    CASTLE. 


EARLY  BEGINNINGS  9 

In  an  elementary  and  varied  form  this 
may  be  seen  in  the  valley  of  the  Hindu 
Kush,  where  underground  dwellings  on  a 
steep  hillside  are  brought  into  communi- 
cation by  a  "corded  way,"  consisting  of 
ladders  placed  on  the  ground,  and,  naturally, 
constantly  changing  gradients. 

Of  course  the  ladder  and  the  vertical 
notched  pole  have  their  limitations,  although 
they  are  still  extensively  used  as  means  of 
communication  in  buildings.  A  ladder, 
unless  it  be  of  the  rope  variety,  cannot  be 
lengthened  indefinitely,  and  if  carried  beyond 
a  certain  length  must  tend  to  become  ver- 
tical. Hence  the  breaking  up  of  the  flights, 
placed  successively  with  the  same  inclina- 
tion or  with  alternating  inclinations,  as 
in  the  Babylonian  towers  and  our  own 
quarter-turn  straight  flight  staircases.  Then 
the  notched  pole,  while  suggesting  the 
yoke  newel,  or  central  support  for  steps, 
also  brought  about  a  recognition  of  the 
advantages  in  gyratory  advance,  or  in  other 
words,  the  greater  practicability  of  the  spiral 
over  the  direct  vertical  ascent. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  that  our  notions 
of  safety  in  staircase  building  are  not  always 
apparent  to  the  undeveloped  mind.     Semi- 


io  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

savage  dwellers  in  the  beehive  type  of  hut, 
although  quite  familiar  with  tree  climbing, 
when  first  brought  into  contact  with  our 
commodious  broad  flights  of  indoor  stairs 
have  felt  it  incumbent  to  go  up  and  down 
on  all  fours,  which,  by  the  way,  is  the  atti- 
tude assumed  to  the  staircase  by  that 
'•  primitive "  creature  the  baby,  all  the 
world  over.  The  ladder  or  notched  pole, 
practically  vertical,  where  both  hands  and 
feet  are  utilised,  is  comprehensible,  but  the 
easy  flight  of  stairs  appears  awful  in  its 
ambitious  course.  Indeed,  there  seems  to 
be  something  fundamental  in  this  feeling,  for 
the  waking  terrors  of  the  savage  are  very 
much  akin  to  widely  prevailing  conditions 
in  the  dream  state. 

Thomas  De  Quincey  in  his  "  Confessions 
of  an  English  Opium  Eater,"  describing  his 
fantastically  troubled  slumber  says  : 

"  Many  years  ago  I  was  looking  over 
Piranesi's  '  Antiquities  of  Rome.'  Mr  Cole- 
ridge, who  was  standing  by,  described  to  me 
a  set  of  plates  by  that  artist,  called  his 
Dreams,  which  record  the  scenery  of  his 
own  visions  during  the  delirium  of  a  fever. 
Some  of  them  represented  vast  Gothic  halls 
.  .  .  Creeping  along  the  sides  of  the  walls 


EARLY  BEGINNINGS  n 

you  perceived  a  staircase,  and  upon  it, 
groping  his  way  upwards,  was  Piranesi  him- 
self; follow  the  stairs  a  little  farther  and 
you  perceive  it  came  to  a  sudden,  abrupt 
termination,  without  any  balustrade,  and 
allowing  no  step  onwards  to  him  who  had 
reached  the  extremity  except  into  the  depths 
below.  Whatever  is  to  become  of  poor 
Piranesi  ?  You  suppose,  at  least,  that  his 
labours  must  in  some  way  terminate  here. 
But  raise  your  eyes,  and  behold  a  second 
flight  of  stairs  still  higher,  on  which  again 
Piranesi  is  perceived,  by  this  time  standing 
on  the  very  brink  of  the  abyss.  Again 
elevate  your  eye,  and  a  still  more  aerial 
flight  of  stairs  is  beheld,  and  again  is 
poor  Piranesi  busy  in  his  aspiring  labours, 
and  so  on,  until  the  unfinished  stairs  and 
Piranesi  both  are  lost  in  the  upper  gloom 
of  the  hall.  With  the  same  power  of  end- 
less growth  and  self-reproduction  did  my 
architecture  proceed  in  dreams.  In  the 
early  stages  of  my  malady  the  splendours 
of  my  dreams  were  indeed  chiefly  architec- 
tural, and  I  beheld  such  a  group  of  cities 
and  palaces  as  was  never  yet  beheld  by 
the  waking  eye,  unless  in  the  clouds." 
Many    who     have     never     read    "  The 


12  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

English  Opium  Eater,"  who  have  never 
studied  architecture  in  its  dizziest  moods, 
have  suffered  from  these  nightmares.  The 
terrible  sinking  that  overwhelms  as  the 
broken  stairways,  the  unbridged  chasms 
are  revealed,  is  apt  to  haunt  the  troubled 
or  overwrought  brain  when  it  swoons  into 
that  "  brother  of  death,"  which  "  exacteth 
a  third  part  of  our  lives,"  as  Sir  Thomas 
Browne  hath  it. 

Fundamentally  the  stairway  is  an  outside 
accession,  as  with  the  Babylonia  spiral 
inclined  plane.  The  same  idea  appears 
to  have  prevailed  in  Greece,  where  the 
exiguous  first  floors  were  reached  by  out- 
side stairways,  either  opening  into  the 
streets  or  the  inner  courts. 

In  Rome  somewhat  more  attention  was 
given  to  staircases.  Both  the  inclined  plane 
and  the  spiral  staircase  were  used  in  public 
buildings  ;  for  instance,  for  the  ascent  of 
the  triumphal  columns.  It  is  probable  also 
that  staircases  of  some  magnitude  were  in 
use  in  such  palaces  as  the  Golden  House 
of  Nero.  But  so  far  as  direct  evidence  is 
concerned  staircases  in  domestic  buildings 
were  few,  narrow  and  steep.  Vitruvius  is 
quite  silent  on  the  point,  which  is  rather 


EARLY  BEGINNINGS  13 

significant.  It  would  appear,  however,  that 
in  Rome  itself  and  in  other  populous  towns, 
each  storey  in  the  tall  houses  was  ap- 
proached by  a  separate  staircase.  As  a 
rule  these  were  built  in  the  house  itself, 
having  an  outlet  into  the  street,  but  no 
communication  with  other  parts  of  the 
house.  The  outside  staircase  was  ex- 
ceptional. In  some  instances,  where  the 
building  consisted  of  a  ground  floor  and 
first  floor,  with  an  inner  court,  the  staircase 
led  from  the  ground  floor  itself  or  the  court. 
Examples  of  this  arrangement  are  to  be 
seen  at  Pompeii,  where,  however,  we  must 
remember  that  Greek  influence  was  very 
much  felt.  Nevertheless  one  of  these 
examples  furnishes  most  interesting  if  some- 
what indirect  evidence  as  regards  design 
and  structural  detail.  Only  rough  indica- 
tions remain  as  to  the  exact  position  of  the 
staircase  in  the  court,  but  luckily  the 
decorative  artist  at  work  was  anxious  to 
achieve  not  merely  good  balance,  but  actual 
symmetry,  so  he  painted  a  staircase  opposite 
the  real  one.  This  pictured  make-weight 
shows  us  narrow,  steep  steps  with  high 
risers,  protected  by  a  severely  plain  balus- 
trade, a  mere  wooden  paling  under  a  square 


14  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

handrail.  Yet  the  house  was  evidently 
one  of  some  pretentions  to  elegance. 
Vestiges  of  longer  flights,  supported  on 
vaultings,  are  also  extant.  Sometimes  a 
succession  of  arches  were  used,  one  end 
of  the  steps  being  engaged  in  the  side 
wall.  When  narrow,  the  staircases  were 
generally  carried  up  between  two  walls, 
the  steps  being  engaged  on  each  side.  This 
was  the  type  prevailing  in  the  insulae,  or 
blocks  of  many  storeyd  buildings,  of  Rome, 
the  soffits  usually  being  barrel-vaulted. 

Roman  practice  as  modified  by  local 
conditions  away  from  the  Imperial  centre 
are  interesting,  especially  as  shown  in  Syria, 
when  we  remember  the  ancient  methods  pre- 
vailing there.  A  house  at  Shakka  of  the 
Romanised  type,  belonging  to  the  2nd  or 
3rd  century,  has  a  remarkable  flight  of  ex- 
ternal stairs.  Broad  stone  steps  are  carried 
from  the  ground  at  a  gentle  inclination  about 
half  way  up  one  flank  of  the  building,  where 
it  reaches  a  landing,  thence  the  flight  rises 
again,  turns  the  corner  and  is  carried  half 
way  along  the  broad  facade  to  a  platform, 
with  a  final  short,  steep  flight  to  the  flat, 
parapeted  roof.  A  doorway  is  provided 
on  each  platform.      The  steps  jut  out  and 


EARLY  BEGINNINGS 


15 


have  no  other  support  than  their  engage- 
ment in  the  wall.  No  signs  of  parapet 
exist,  but  it  is  possible  that  a  wooden 
balustrade  originally  finished  off  this  curious 
exposed  work.  Another  house  at  Dama, 
belonging  to  the  same  period,  has  short 
external  flights  to  the  first  floor,  and  then 
an  internal  flight  to  the  second  floor,  a 
system  which  we  find  common  among 
Mediaeval  builders. 


STAIRCASE  IN  ROMAN  AMPHITHEATRES 


For  public  buildings  stairways  were  given 
due  consideration.  We  have  already  re- 
ferred  to  the   inclined    planes    and    spiral 


It  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

staircases.  In  amphitheatres  a  common 
practice  was  to  provide  alternate  opposed 
flights  separated  by  a  curtain  wall,  one 
flight  leading  to  the  principal  gallery  and 
the  others  to  the  upper  seats. 

Both  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  indeed 
also  Asiatic  peoples,  provided  their  temples 
with  broad  flights  of  deep,  low  steps, 
generally  in  uneven  numbers,  so  that  those 
who  mounted  them  began  and  ended  with 
the  right  foot,  which,  no  doubt,  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  the  ritual  of  approaching 
the  altar  with  the  right  hand  uplifted  in 
submission  and  supplication.  Palladio  states 
that  the  number  usually  chosen  was  eleven 
or  thirteen.  If  more  were  used,  then  a 
broader  step,  a  half-way  platform  for  rest, 
was  provided  to  break  up  the  flight  into 
two  sections. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   CASTLE    TYPE 

Builders  of  the  Romanesque  period,  like 
those  of  antiquity,  treated  staircases  some- 
what in  the  light  of  necessary  evils,  or  at  all 
events  merely  as  contrivances  for  reaching 
upper  floors.  All  notion  of  their  monu- 
mental and  artistic  value,  any  idea  of  their 
being  treated  otherwise  than  from  the  purely 
utilitarian  point  of  view  came  very  much 
later.  It  is  well,  however,  to  emphasise  the 
fact  that  this  applies  to  domestic  economy 
only  ;  both  the  Greeks  and  Romans  perfectly 
well  understood  the  charm  of  nobly  pro- 
portioned flights  of  steps  as  a  setting  for 
their  temples  and  other  public  buildings. 
But  even  with  them  it  was  a  question  of 
outside  effect  alone. 

In  our  Norman  castles,  and  even  in  those 
constructed  down  to  the  13th  century,  we  find 

17 


18  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

a  curious  combination  of  two  principles  in 
building.  One  of  the  main  preoccupations 
of  the  builders  both  in  connection  with  the 
castle  dependencies  and  the  keep  or  tower 
itself,  was  to  render  them  as  nearly  im- 
pregnable as  possible.  They  were  masses 
of  masonry  intended  to  repel  rather  than  to 
attract  the  stranger.  For  this  reason  the 
ground  floors  were  practically  dungeons, 
that  is  to  say  they  rarely  had  any  direct 
communication  with  the  outside.  At  this 
level  the  walls  were  of  immense  thickness, 
and  probably  originally  were  never  pierced 
except  by  rare  narrow  embrasures,  mere 
slits  of  windows,  placed  high  up  and  con- 
structed with  a  skyward  slant.  It  was  the 
first  floor  which  formed  the  real  entrance 
level.  It  was  reached  by  way  of  an  outside 
stairway  and  used  as  a  kind  of  vestibule  or 
guardroom.  These  outside  staircases  were 
often  entirely  open,  though  sometimes 
roofed  over  with  wood,  and  in  the  later 
centuries  even  enclosed  by  wooden  walls. 
They  were  generally  very  narrow.  Quite 
commonly  such  stairways  commenced 
abruptly,  at  other  times  the  foot  was  pro- 
tected by  a  porch.  At  the  top  of  this  flight 
was  usually  a  landing  leading  into  an  outer 


r»\  : . . t  i 


ROMANESQUE    STAIRCASE,    PAINTED    CHAMBER,    WESTMINSTER. 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  19 

vestibule ;  or  the  stairs  passing  under  a 
machiolated  and  embrasured  gateway 
opened  straight  into  the  guardroom. 
Inside,  a  winding  staircase,  or  a  succession 
of  straight  flights,  led  from  the  ground  floor 
to  the  top  of  the  edifice.  In  very  many 
cases  there  were  supplementary  stairs 
linking  different  floors  or  particular  sets  of 
chambers.  Such  were  the  chief  points  so 
far  as  perpendicular  communication  from  the 
ground  to  the  crenelated  terrace  were 
concerned. 

Now  let  us  consider  more  in  detail  how 
these  several  features  were  dealt  with  by 
the  Mediaeval  builder.  Happily  for  our 
purpose  we  have  many  existing  relics  and 
fairly  good  records  of  those  which  have 
passed  away. 

We  can  still  trace  the  outside  stairways 
which  were  at  one  time  the  only  approaches 
to  the  interiors  of  the  castles  and  keeps 
of  Canterbury,  Colchester,  Conisborough, 
Dover,  Guildford,  Norwich,  Porchester, 
Rochester  and  many  others  scattered  up 
and  down  the  country. 

At  Rochester  the  stairs  were  planned  in 
two  flights.  They  were  placed  parallel  to 
the  castle  walls,  commencing  on  one  face, 


20  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

turning  the  corner  and  ending  on  the  second 
side.  At  the  angle  of  the  castle  and  stair- 
case there  was  a  landing  under  an  arched 
gatehouse  ;  then  the  open  flight  continued 
along  the  second  face  and  ended  abruptly 
some  distance  from  the  fortified  portal.  A 
drawbridge  provided  the  necessary  com- 
munication. The  arched  gateway  gave 
access  to  a  short  corridor  and  a  second 
portal  barred  the  way  to  the  guardroom. 
Possibly  the  whole  staircase  may  have  been 
covered  by  a  timber  pent-house,  or  even  a 
hipped  roof  supported  by  wooden  pillars, 
for  such  could  be  speedily  removed  in  the 
event  of  danger.  At  all  events  we  know 
that  there  was  a  wooden  porch  outside  the 
first  portal,  for  we  read  in  the  Liberate 
Rolls  of  24  and  25  Henry  III.  the  instruc- 
tions :  "  To  renovate  the  stair  before  the 
outer  gate  of  the  tower  at  Rochester  Castle 
and  make  certain  pent-house  above  the  stair 
aforesaid."  Referring  to  another  outside 
staircase  connected  with  the  same  strong- 
hold, further  instructions  are  given  :  "  To 
cause  to  be  made  certain  iron  trellis  on  the 
staircase  before  our  chambers  towards  our 
herbery." 

Evidently   this   was    originally   an    open 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  21 

stairway  with  unprotected  side,  and  the  iron 
trellis  was  a  guard  or  balustrade,  added  at  a 
more  polished  period.  From  these  Liberate 
Rolls  and  other  sources  it  appears  that 
towards  the  13th  century  additional  outside 
stairways  were  provided,  possibly  to  connect 
the  tower  with  the  dependencies,  when  these 
wooden  structures  were  replaced  by  more 
permanent  edifices  of  stone  or  brick. 

It  is  instructive  to  observe  elaborate 
development  along  these  lines  at  quite  an 
early  date.  For  evidence  of  this  it  is 
significant  that  we  have  to  go  to  another 
Kentish  castle,  the  magnificent  ancient  pile 
at  Dover.  This  great  Norman  stronghold 
originally  had  an  open  flight  of  stairs, 
spreading  slightly  fanwise  at  base,  and 
placed  at  right  angles  to  the  building.  At 
the  top  of  this  first  flight  is  a  landing  and  an 
arched  doorway,  but  to  the  right  of  the 
landing  another  flight  was  run  up  parallel 
and  clinging  to  the  wall  of  the  castle.  It 
leads  through  an  arched  portal  to  a 
crenelated  vestibule.  Thence  forward  the 
staircase  is  covered  in,  and  turning  the 
angle  of  the  building  leads  to  a  second 
vestibule    on   the   third   floor   level,   where 

there     was    a     fine     doorway     (afterwards 
c 


22  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

blocked)  giving  entrance  to  the  State 
apartments,  which  were  thus  very  well 
protected,  for  adequate  precautions  were 
taken  to  isolate  internally  each  separate 
storey.  One  evident  advantage  of  this 
extended  outside  staircase  was  that  it  gave 
a  semi-private  entrance  to  the  State  apart- 
ments, which  could  be  reached  without 
going  through  those  parts  of  the  castle 
occupied  by  the  garrison. 

At  Norwich  the  arrangements  were  quite 
elaborate.  The  exceptionally  large  propor- 
tioned external  stone  staircase,  running 
along  the  south-eastern  front,  had  to  pass 
under  two  fortified  archways.  Probably 
when  erected  there  was  a  drawbridge  near 
the  gate-house  tower,  which  was  pierced  by 
an  archway  leading  into  the  guardroom. 

Conisborough  keep  possessed  a  straight 
flight  of  stone  steps,  which  led  to  a  square 
vestibule  built  outside  the  tower.  Through 
this  entrance  was  gained  to  the  main  apart- 
ment on  the  first  floor. 

At  Bolton  Castle,  Yorkshire,  originally 
there  was  an  external  staircase  to  the  first 
floor,  and,  curiously  enough,  another  one 
on  the  north  side,  reaching  to  the  second 
floor.     In  this  latter  case  there  was  a  short 


•  1    »    »   »      '     ' 

•■•.••    •  •••••• ;*> ;.  :  :  ;. 


FOOT    OF    SPIRAL    STAIRS,    CHATEAUDUN,    FRANCE. 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  23 

flight  leading  to  a  long  terrace,  thence  a 
right  and  left  steep  flight  led  up  to  the  arched 
door.  Bolton  Castle  was  erected  by  Richard 
Scrope,  Chancellor  to  Richard  II.,  and  took 
eighteen  years  to  build,  according  to  Leland. 
It  seems  almost  certain  that  this  second 
entrance,  with  its  rudimentary  grand  perron, 
was  an  addition  of  much  later  date. 

At  Scarborough  Castle  there  was  a  pit 
In  the  ground  immediately  below  the  first 
floor  entrance.  It  would  appear,  therefore, 
that  the  stone  landing  must  have  replaced 
an  earlier  drawbridge  or  wooden  platform. 
Over  its  doorway  was  a  shute  for  discharg- 
ing stones,  molten  lead  or  boiling  water. 

Hedingham  Castle,  a  Norman  keep  in 
Essex  built  by  the  de  Veres,  is  interesting 
in  many  ways.  The  keep  is  a  lofty  square 
tower  of  stone,  five  storeys  high.  The 
entrance  was  placed  on  the  western  side, 
where  there  was  a  flight  of  steps  to  the 
first  floor.  At  the  head  of  the  stairs  was 
a  lofty  doorway  flanked  by  columns  sup- 
porting a  semi-circular  arch,  decorated  with 
zigzag  ornaments.  On  the  sides  were 
grooves  for  a  portcullis,  so  that  apparently 
the  landing  was  in  the  form  of  a  draw- 
bridge. 


24  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

In  some  cases  these  external  stairs  were 
built  at  right  angles  to  the  castle.  We 
have  here  the  beginnings  of  the  grand 
staircase  leading  to  a  terrace,  the  perron 
of  the  Continental  chateaux  builders.  More 
often,  however,  the  stairs  were  built  parallel 
to  the  outer  walls,  clinging  to  the  side  of 
the  castle,  which  was  an  evolution  from  the 
primitive  protruding  isolated  steps  used,  as 
we  have  seen,  by  cave-dwellers.  Dacre 
Castle,  Cumberland,  offers  us  a  curious  and 
not  unhandsome  combination  of  the  two 
methods.  From  the  first  floor  there  is  a 
flight  of  steps  clinging  to  the  side  of  the 
castle,  and  leading  to  a  considerable  plat- 
form, jutting  out  at  right  angles.  This  is 
approached  by  short  right  and  left  flights 
at  right  angles  to  the  landing,  and  conse- 
quently parallel  to  the  building.  This  is 
distinctly  the  perron  in  a  modest  form. 

Farther  stages  in  the  evolution  from  the 
cave-dwelling  type  are  to  be  seen  in  several 
old  castellated  structures.  For  instance  in 
the  Tour  d'Orange  at  Carpentras  Castle 
there  is  a  very  ornamental  set  of  protruding 
steps.  They  project  a  fair  distance  and 
run  up  a  considerable  height.  Each  step 
is  flat  on  the  top  and  rounded  at  the  base. 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  25 

The  steps  are  placed  close  together,  one 
below  the  other,  and  are  supported  by  three 
rows  of  similar  projections.  This  quaint 
stairway,  therefore,  is  in  the  form  of  a 
diagonal  band  of  four  courses  of  corbelling. 


CORBELLED  STEPS,  CARPENTRAS 

It  was  a  decorative  way  of  treating  an 
exceedingly  crude  contrivance.  While  quite 
pretty  to  look  at,  the  way  is  narrow,  steep, 
without  parapet,  without  even  a  handrail  on 
the  perpendicular  wall  face.  But  doubtless 
in  the  way  of  comfort  and  safety  it  was  an 
improvement  on  the  isolated  steps  with  gaps 
between. 

A  safer  method,  also  taking  its  origin 
from  cave -dwellings  and  early  masonry 
work,  was  to  build  an  extra  thickness  on 


26  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 


the  wall,  diminishing  it  gradually  from 
bottom  to  top  and  then  placing  steps  on 
the  inclined  plane.  While  in  later  times 
stairways  of  this  pattern  were  made  of 
great  width  and  with  some  regard  to 
monumental  effect,  they  were  often  narrow 
and  extremely  steep.  An  example  of  this 
can  be  seen  at  Belsay  Castle,  Northumber- 
land, built  about  1320. 


WEDGE  STEPS,  ST  NAZAIRE 


To   obviate    the    disadvantages    of    this 
steepness   and   the    consequent    height    of 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  27 

the  individual  steps,  an  ingenious  device 
was  adopted.  The  method  hit  upon  was 
to  cut  away  half  of  each  step  diagonally, 
the  broad  side  of  the  top  wedge  being 
against  the  wall,  and  the  broad  side  of  the 
lower  wedge  outside.  By  this  simple  means 
each  step  was  made  dual,  the  steepness 
being  divided  by  half,  and  thus  while  as- 
cending was  made  easier,  descent  was 
rendered  less  dangerous,  so  that  the  prac- 
tical utility  of  the  stairs  was  greatly  in- 
creased. On  giving  the  matter  a  very  little 
consideration  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
arrangement  of  these  wedges  in  zigzag 
formation  is  directly  in  accordance  with 
the  natural  movements  of  man,  who,  under 
normal  conditions,  only  places  one  foot  at 
a  time  on  one  step,  it  therefore  provides 
an  admirable  solution  of  a  difficult  problem. 
Examples  of  this  kind  of  step  may  be 
seen  in  the  galleries  of  the  transept  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  Paris,  and  also 
at  the  Church  of  St  Nazaire,  Carcassonne. 
As  we  shall  see  later  on,  the  zigzag  system 
of  stepping  is  a  natural  and  favourite  way 
to  soften  the  sharpness  of  declivities  in 
gardens. 

Returning  to  the  plan  of  building  stair- 


28  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

ways  parallel  to  outside  walls,  it  will  be 
found  on  examining  the  very  numerous 
examples  of  old  work  still  existing  that 
considerable  diversity  of  treatment  prevailed. 
The  supporting  wall  was  often  so  contrived 
as  to  merge  into  the  general  body  of  the 
structure,  so  that  the  stairway  was  merely 
a  more  or  less  wide  and  comfortable  stepped 
vertical  course.  Quite  as  frequently,  how- 
ever, it  was  frankly  an  addition,  the  whole 
mass  protruding  from  the  building.  In 
either  case  it  seems  to  have  been  early 
realised  that  where  the  steps  were  to  be 
of  considerable  width,  economy  of  material 
and  labour,  with  a  very  welcome  gain  in 
the  diminishing  of  weight,  could  be  secured 
by  building  not  a  solid  supporting  wall,  but 
a  series  of  blind  arches.  This  suggested 
many  possibilities  for  improvement. 

For  instance,  at  one  point,  either  at  the 
intermediary  resting-place  or  on  the  top 
landing,  the  arch  could  be  left  uncompleted, 
the  void  being  crossed  by  a  platform  of 
wood,  or  by  a  drawbridge.  In  this  way  the 
approach  could  be  interrupted  by  producing 
a  gap  whenever  attack  was  threatened. 
Another  outcome  of  this  was  the  carrying 
up  of  a  curtain  wall,  to  form  a  guard  or 


•  •     >     »    •» 


1       I 


HEAD    OF    SPIRAL    STAIRS,    CHATEAUDUN,    FRANCE. 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  29 

parapet.  At  first  these  guards  were  solid 
screen  walls.  Later  they  were  arcaded, 
the  pillars  being  more  or  less  decorated. 

Many  of  these  external  stairways,  besides 
having  porches  at  the  base  and  pent-houses 
over  the  top  landing,  were  protected  by 
roofs,  some  even  more  or  less  completely 
boarded  in.  Wood  was  used  for  this  pur- 
pose originally,  with  a  view  to  prompt 
removal  in  times  of  warfare  of  anything 
that  could  prove  useful  to  an  enemy  as 
" cover"  in  an  assault  on  the  castle. 

When  the  buildings  were  not  of  a  military 
nature  greater  pains  were  taken  to  make 
these  stairways  convenient  and  even  hand- 
some. Thus  within  the  precincts  of  Can- 
terbury Cathedral,  as  an  adjunct  to  the 
Augustinian  Monastery,  a  fine  external 
stairway  was  erected  in  the  nth  century, 
leading  to  the  Strangers'  Hall.  It  has  an 
upper  landing  and  a  roof  supported  by 
double  arcading,  with  diminishing  columns 
as  the  stairs  ascend.  At  the  old  Chambre 
des  Comptes,  Paris,  built  in  the  reign  of 
Louis  XII.,  there  was  a  beautiful  external 
staircase  running  parallel  to  the  wall.  It 
commenced  with  an  ornamental  porch,  and 
after  an  easy  ascent  opened  direct  into  the 


30  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

large  hall  on  the  first  floor.  This  porch, 
with  its  entrance  placed  at  right  angles  to 
the  flight,  had  an  arched  entrance,  with 
grooved  pillars  supporting  an  elaborately 
pinnacled  roof,  the  pediment  being  orna- 
mented with  the  sculptured  arms  of  France 
between  two  winged  antelopes  gorged  with 
royal  crowns.  A  pent-house  roof  protected 
the  stairs,  and  was  supported  by  three 
pillars  united  by  arches,  both  the  columns 
and  pendentives  being  powered  with  fleur- 
de-lis.  A  parapet  formed  of  panels  was 
carved  in  high  relief,  with  lis  enfiled  by 
crowns,  alternating  with  crowned  dolphins. 
This  superstructure,  as  well  as  the  stairs, 
was  of  stone ;  as  was  the  equally  beautiful 
stairway  of  the  same  type  at  the  no  very 
distant  Sainte  Chapelle. 

When  the  stairs  were  placed  at  right 
angles  to  the  building  they  naturally  as- 
sumed a  more  monumental  appearance.  An 
original,  and  what  under  certain  circum- 
stances might  prove  a  decidedly  useful  treat- 
ment of  this  sub-variety  was  formerly  to  be 
seen  at  the  Castle  of  Montargis,  erected 
early  in  the  second  half  of  the  13th  century. 
It  was  of  stone,  the  steps  supported  on  a 
series  of  semi-arches  diminishing  in  altitude. 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE 


31 


A  pointed  roof  of  wood  was  supported  by 
a  series  of  pillars.  But  the  remarkable 
feature  of  this  stairway  was  that  it  was  in 
the  form  of  a  Latin  cross,  the  three  short 
limbs  furthest  away  from  the  building 
affording  three  separate  communications 
with  the  courtyard.  The  middle  and  right 
and  left  flight  rose  at  a  fairly  steep  angle 


PLAN  OF    STAIRWAY,   MONTARGIS 


to  a  common  platform,  whence  there  was  a 
long  flight  at  an  easy  gradient  to  another 
rest,  and  then  a  final  set  of  low  steps  to  the 
entrance  portal.  A  modification  of  this 
scheme  was  later  used  for  internal  staircases 


32  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

leading  from  entrance  halls  to  State  apart- 
ments. 

It  can  easily  be  understood  that  the 
approach  to  the  first  floor  by  an  external 
stairway  had  its  practical  purpose  in  the 
castle  type  of  architecture,  and  some  excuse 
when  used  in  connection  with  public  build- 
ings even  down  to  the  16th  century,  when 
precautions  had  to  be  taken  against  the 
dangers  of  sudden  assault.  Clearly  an 
enemy  attempting  to  scale  an  exposed  stair- 
way overlooked  by  embrasures,  through 
which  defenders  could  shower  down  arrows, 
stones,  or  discharge  firearms,  was  at  a  serious 
disadvantage.  But  when  this  precaution 
became  less  urgent  the  progress  of  the  arts 
caused  the  dignity  that  a  well  designed 
external  stairway  could  give  to  a  building 
to  be  recognised,  and  this  modified  style 
persisted  long  after  the  state  of  affairs  that 
had  called  it  into  being  had  ceased  to  operate. 
Indeed,  as  we  shall  see,  it  continues  to  be 
appreciated  not  only  where  an  imposing 
addition  to  a  fagade  is  desired,  but  even  in 
the  domestic  architecture  of  quite  a  modest 
order  in  such  divergent  regions  as  Flanders 
and  Italy. 

Leaving  this  phase  of  the  development 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  33 

for  later  consideration,  we  must  return  to 
the  castles  in  order  to  examine  the  methods 
adopted  internally  in  the  Romanesque  and 
Gothic  structures  for  perpendicular  inter- 
communication. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  that  if  an 
enemy  succeeded  in  gaining  the  first  floor 
of  a  castle  keep,  they  had  by  no  means 
completed  their  task.  The  stronghold  was 
far  from  being  at  their  mercy.  The  narrow- 
ness, steepness,  and  the  position  of  the 
internal  staircases  made  them  easy  to  de- 
fend. They  could  be  blocked  without  much 
trouble,  and  a  single  armed  man  at  the  upper 
landing  could  keep  at  bay  a  whole  string  of 
assailants  forced  to  mount  in  single  file. 
Many  of  these  staircases  were  also  protected 
by  arched  and  loopholed  portals.  How 
effectually  such  an  internal  defence  could  be 
organised  will  be  realised  by  anyone  con- 
sidering the  grand  flight  of  stone  steps,  one 
hundred  in  number,  leading  up  steeply  be- 
tween two  walls  and  under  vaulted  ceiling 
in  the  Round  Tower  at  Windsor  Castle. 
This  is  a  straight  flight  of  very  unusual 
breadth.  Still,  the  upper  landing  would 
have  been  an  awkward  place  to  capture  in 
the  face  of  a  few  resolute  pikemen  or  arque- 


34  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

busiers.  A  very  similar  arrangement  is  to 
be  seen  at  Castle  Rising,  Norfolk. 

At  La  Rochebrune,  a  tiny  rock  castle 
near  Brantdme,  there  is  an  internal  spiral 
staircase  leading  from  the  lower  to  the  upper 
chamber,  with  pierced  steps,  to  be  used 
as  meutrieres. 

While  the  common  rule  was  to  have  an 
internal  staircase  mounting  from  the  ground 
floor  to  the  top  storey  or  the  parapets,  this 
method  was  not  universally  adopted.  In 
some  cases  the  descending  steps  leading  to 
the  dungeon-like  ground  floor  were  not 
directly  connected  with  the  ascending  flight. 

In  the  early  castles  staircases  were  built 
in  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  a  tubular  shaft 
being  fitted  with  steps.  In  the  most  primi- 
tive type  of  structures  these  steps  were 
merely  projecting  slabs  of  stone,  isolated  as 
in  the  cliff  caves,  or,  in  more  advanced  form, 
placed  close  together,  so  as  to  form  a  con- 
tinuous stair.  With  these  steps  straight 
flights  from  storey  to  storey  were  formed  ; 
in  such  cases  the  shafts  being  planned  at  an 
angle,  or  the  steps  merely  jutted  out  from 
the  wall.  More  usually  the  steps  wound 
round  the  circular  shaft  in  spiral  formation. 
An  instance  of  this  is  seen  in  the  mono- 


::•.•:!•• 


ROUND    TOWER,    WINDSOR    CASTLE. 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  35 

lithic  church  of  St  Emilion,  Dordogne, 
carved  out  of  the  solid  rock,  where  there 
is  a  hole  in  one  of  the  aisles  giving  access 
to  the  crypt  below,  a  spiral  stairway  being 
cut  in  rock  forming  the  walls  of  the 
shaft.  It  must  have  early  occurred  to 
builders  that  the  open  shaft  was  a  danger 
to  the  garrison  which  could  be  surmounted 
without  great  difficulty,  first,  by  providing  a 
sustaining  wall  for  the  straight  flights,  and, 
secondly,  by  placing  a  central  column  or 
newel  for  supporting  the  inner  ends  of  the 
spirally  disposed  steps.  As  a  rule,  with 
narrow,  straight  flights  of  steps,  the  plan 
was  to  adopt  the  old  Roman  method,  and 
run  them  between  two  walls,  as  we  see  at 
Windsor  Castle,  the  steps  being  engaged 
in  the  masonry  on  each  side.  This  was  a 
natural  style  of  building,  but  it  had  the  dis- 
advantage of  requiring  much  space,  and 
making  the  stairs  awkwardly  abrupt,  even 
if  the  flights  were  only  carried  from  storey 
to  storey.  With  the  spiral  stairs  the  first 
improvement  appears  to  have  been  to  build 
up  the  central  column,  inserting  the  thin 
end  of  the  steps  into  its  body  and  the  broad 
end  into  the  wall.  But  this  was  only  done 
with  quite  narrow   stairs ;   with    the    more 


36  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

important  ones  a  spiral  inclined  plane, 
vaulted  beneath  and  flat  on  top,  was  thrown 
from  the  vertical  columns  to  the  walls,  and 
on  this  the  steps  were  placed.  A  masonry 
of  small  stones,  often  little  better  than 
rubble,  was  used.     Subsequently  the  drums 


THREADED  DRUM  FOR  SPIRAL  STAIRS 

of  the  newel  were  provided  with  a  spiral 
ledge,  like  the  flat  thread  of  a  screw,  as  a 
kind  of  key  for  the  vaulting. 

Towards  the  thirteenth  century,  possibly 
owing  to  improved  methods  of  quarrying, 
vaulting  was  suppressed,  and  steps  of  single 
slabs  re-introduced,  but  now  of  considerable 
width.  Each  step  was  made  to  carry  its 
own  section  of  the  newel.  This  was  accom- 
plished by  cutting  the  thin  end  of  the  step 
in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  a  circular  swelling, 
generally  grooved  in  some  fashion  both  at 
top  and  bottom.  The  result  of  this  was  that 
as  each   step  was   placed   in   position,   the 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  37 

outer  broad  end  engaged  in  the  wall  of  the 
cage,  the  lower  end  of  the  upper  step  resting 
on  the  upper  edge  of  the  lower  one,  the 
spiral  thus  opening  out  fanwise,  solid 
columns  were  built  up,  the  inner  parts  of 
the  steps  providing  their  own  support. 
This  was  a  very  considerable  advance  in 
simplification,  but  an  even  greater  improve- 
ment  came   when    the   cutting   out   of  the 


SPIRAL  STEP  WITH  PORTION  OF  NEWEL 

steps  was  elaborated,  the  drum  end  being 
carved  with  a  spiral  groove  or  thread,  above 
the  step,  in  order  to  furnish  a  handrail. 
This  led  to  further  elaboration  and  to  an 
evolution  towards  decorative  carving.  In 
order  to  lighten  construction,  the  solid  drum 
was  replaced  by  a  segment  of  a  circle 
calculated  in  accordance  with  the  demen- 
sions  of  the  staircase.  In  this  way  the 
newel  became  a  hollow  cylinder  instead  of 
a  solid  column,  which  rendered  certain  forms 
of  decoration  and  central  lighting  possible. 


38  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

The  Gothic  architects  went  even  farther, 
designing  isolated  spiral  staircases,  with 
solid  or  hollow  newels,  and  the  outer  ends 
of  the  steps  supported  on  colonettes,  which 


SPIRAL  STEP  WITH  SEGMENT  OF  HOLLOW  NEWEL 

also  served  the  purpose  of  a  cage.  When 
desired  these  colonettes  could  be  united 
towards  the  base  by  panels  of  pierced 
tracery,  or  by  a  simple  handrail. 

We  must  not  now  follow  this  advance 
in  design  and  constructional  practice,  but 
must  return  for  the  present  to  a  considera- 
tion of  the  old  castles  and  what  they  have 
to  teach  us. 

At  Colchester  Castle,  which  some  anti- 
quaries have  attributed  to  the  Saxon  period, 
a  peculiar  plan  was  adopted.  The  original 
outside  stairway  was  on  the  north  side  and 
led  up  to  the  first  floor,  passing  under  an 
arched  gate.     Adjoining  this  gateway  was 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  39 

a  narrow  gallery  and  also  a  circular  staircase 
of  small  dimensions,  leading  upwards  only. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  castle  was  a 
much  larger  spiral  staircase,  which  reached 
from  the  ground  floor  to  the  top.  The  first 
named  has  a  central  newel,  is  vaulted,  and 
the  steps  are  made  of  three  slabs. 

Of  Anglo-Saxon  masonry  work  another 
specimen  remained  in  the  ancient  palace  of 
Westminster,  standing  at  the  south-east 
angle  of  the  Painted  Chamber.  It  is  re- 
produced on  plate  facing  page  18,  being 
particularly  interesting  as  showing  the 
method  of  construction  of  the  newel. 

Canterbury  Castle,  like  that  at  Dover, 
had  two  spiral  staircases.  These  were  built 
in  the  thickness  of  the  walls,  at  the  angles. 
There  was  also  a  gallery  running  horizontally 
through  the  thickness  of  the  wall  and  con- 
nected with  one  of  the  staircases. 

Rochester  Castle,  as  might  be  expected 
from  its  magnitude  and  architectural  im- 
portance, possessed  three  internal  staircases, 
all  built  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls.  One 
of  these,  of  moderate  size,  placed  close  to 
the  entrance  portal,  descended  to  the  ground 
floor  and  ascended  to  the  topmost.  There 
was  another  small  staircase,  parallel  to  this, 


40  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

but  nearly  in  the  opposite  angle,  which  ran 
from  the  first  floor  to  the  top,  and  the  third 
and  larger  one,  in  the  further  angle,  also  ran 
from  this  floor  to  the  top.  On  the  third 
floor  there  was  a  gallery  in  the  thickness 
of  the  wall  as  at  Canterbury,  only  here 
it  almost  circled  the  castle,  linking  up  the 
three  staircases.  The  gallery,  although 
horizontal  in  general  plan,  ran  at  different 
levels,  these  being  connected  by  steps,  while 
other  steps  served  to  enable  soldiers  to 
reach  the  loopholes.  A  similar  gallery 
but  far  less  developed,  existed  in  the 
Guildford  keep. 

At  Colchester  Castle  the  spiral  staircase 
occupied  a  shaft  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall, 
and  was  placed  in  the  opposite  angle  to 
the  first  floor  entrance. 

In  the  keep  of  Conisborough  Castle  the 
method  adopted  was  to  have  flights  of  steps 
encased  in  the  walls,  running  from  floor 
to  floor. 

At  Hedingham  Castle,  Essex,  the  placing 
of  the  internal  staircases  much  resembled 
the  arrangements  existing  at  Colchester, 
but  with  a  difference.  From  the  first  floor 
there  was  a  descending  flight  to  the  gloomy 
ground    floor.     In    the    north-west    corner, 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  41 

however,  a  spiral  staircase  leads  from  the 
ground  floor  to  the  summit.  It  is  contained 
in  the  thickness  of  the  wall  and  is  exception- 
ally large  for  England,  being  eleven  feet 
in  circumference.  These  walls,  by  the  way, 
are  14  feet  thick  at  the  base  and  12  feet 
thick  above,  being  pierced  for  doorways 
and  windows  (the  latter  increasing  in  size 
and  elaborateness  of  decoration  as  each 
successive  floor  is  reached)  and  hollowed 
out  for  the  fireplaces  and  stairs. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  aim  of  the 
builder  was  to  afford  inter-communication 
without  taking  up  more  space  than  was 
absolutely  necessary,  and  without  danger- 
ously weakening  the  defensive  plans.  By 
encasing  narrow  spiral  staircases  in  the  thick 
walls  themselves  space  was  economised, 
and  each  stairhead  became  a  point  that 
could  be  easily  defended.  The  castle  keep 
was  in  effect  divided  into  as  many  strong- 
holds horizontally  as  there  were  storeys, 
for  each  floor  was  a  complete  apartment, 
only  approached  by  the  narrow  ways  on 
its  circumference,  the  otherwise  solid  walls, 
floors  and  ceilings,  effectively  isolating  each 
storey.  Even  if  the  first  floor  was  gained, 
the    garrison    could    retreat    upwards    and 


42  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

continue  fighting,  waiting  for  relief  or  for 
an  opportunity  for  sallying  out.  It  is  to 
be  noted  that  in  the  oldest  castles  the  State 
apartments  are  always  on  the  third  or  fourth 
storey,  thus  being  protected  by  two  or 
three  lines  of  defence  below  and  out  of  range 
of  slings  and  bows.  But  as  the  centuries 
progressed  greater  claims  for  social  comfort 
were  made.  Then  more  staircases  were 
provided,  though  still  comparatively  re- 
stricted in  dimensions  and  hidden  away. 

Another  improvement  was  the  introduc- 
tion of  private  stairways,  not  to  be  used 
by  the  garrison  or  for  general  service. 
Thus  it  is  that  we  see  secondary  staircases 
from  the  first  floor  to  the  top  storey  or 
even  the  embattled  roof,  and  more  parti- 
cularly the  short  flights  connecting  the 
State  apartments  with  the  floor  above  or 
below.  They  were  intended  for  the  ladies 
and  the  master  of  the  stronghold.  These 
additions  were  very  necessary,  for  the 
castles  were  little  worlds  of  their  own,  and 
so  privacy  had  to  be  considered. 

When  the  keep  became  merely  a  kind 
of  forlorn  hope  refuge,  and  the  castle  de- 
pendencies, no  longer  built  of  wood,  assumed 
greater  importance,  inner  courtyards  were 


•    •     •     I 


GOTHIC    STAIRCASE,    WINDSOR    CASTLE. 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  43 

formed,  the  Keep  and  the  Great  Hall  being 
two  strong  points  united  by  curtain  walls. 
This  change  also  brought  about  multiplica- 
tion of  stairways,  and  the  builders,  still 
anxious  to  save  space  internally  and  to 
preserve  defensive  horizontal  unity,  devised 
the  outside  turret  to  contain  the  staircase. 
These  were,  at  all  events  in  the  early  days, 
invariably  placed  inside  courtyards.  They 
did  not  interfere  with  internal  planning  of 
buildings,  and  for  defensive  purposes  were 
practically  outside  of  it.  Probably  such 
turret -staircases  were  first  introduced  in 
the  great  monastic  establishments.  These 
turrets  frequently  formed  horizontal  means 
of  communication  between  the  keep  and  the 
hall,  or  between  other  parts  of  the  great 
buildings,  the  practically  isolated  spiral  stair- 
case having  corridors  at  various  landings 
branching  out  in  any  direction  desired. 
This  was  the  method  adopted  by  Raymond 
du  Temple  in  the  old  Valois  Louvre.  But 
we  have  evidence  of  something  of  the  same 
sort  much  earlier  in  our  own  country.  The 
Liberate  Rolls,  temp.  Henry  III.,  already 
quoted,  show  that  at  Rochester  Castle 
and  elsewhere  there  were  several  staircases 
reserved  for  serving  different  parts  of  the 


44  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

stronghold.  We  also  see  this  when  the 
hall,  detached  from  the  keep,  became  an 
integral  part  of  the  edifice.  Then  it  was 
common  to  have  a  small  circular  staircase 
or  a  straight  flight  rising  from  the  hall  to 
the  minstrel  gallery,  whence  corridors  to  the 
private  apartments  could  be  reached.  Often, 
too,  a  set  of  small  spiral  stairs  led  from  the 
dais,  close  to  the  monumental  fireplace,  to 
the  private  apartments.  Such  stairs  might 
be  hidden  in  the  walls,  concealed  by  the 
arras  hangings,  or  be  enclosed  in  circular 
or  octagonal  screens  of  carved  wood  or 
stone. 

These  refinements,  however,  belong  to  the 
period  of  transition,  to  the  rising  refinement 
brought  in  with  Gothic  architecture  and 
ornament.  To  this  period  of  widening 
horizons  must  also  be  attributed  the  peculiar 
arrangements  existing  at  Langley  Castle, 
Northumberland,  built  in  the  second  half 
of  the  fourteenth  century.  It  is  a  long 
building  with  four  square  towers  at  the 
angles,  and  a  smaller  turret  on  the  north 
side,  attached  by  a  series  of  chambers  to 
the  north-west  tower.  This  additional  turret 
has  an  arched  portal  guarded  by  a  port- 
ullis,  with  a  passage  leading  to  a  circular 


THE  CASTLE  TYPE  45 

staircase.  It  is  of  considerable  size  and  is 
the  only  one  in  the  large  building,  measuring 
80  feet  by  24  feet  internally  (the  walls  are 
7  feet  thick),  and  of  four  storeys.  The 
towers  are  no  less  than  60  feet  high.  A 
peculiarity  of  this  arrangement  of  a  ground 
floor  entrance  close  to  the  staircase  is  that 
there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any 
moat  or  other  outside  works.  A  possible 
commentary  on  this  lack  of  precautions  is 
the  fact  that  the  castle  appears  to  have 
been  gutted  by  fire  at  an  early  but  unre- 
corded period. 


CHAPTER  III 

SPIRAL   STAIRCASES   OF   THE    GOTHIC   AND 
RENAISSANCE   PERIODS 

On  first  attempting  a  study  of  a  spiral  stair- 
case of  the  Gothic  or  Renaissance  periods — 
say  those  in  Tattershall  or  Fyvie  Castles, 
those  at  Chambord  and  Blois,  or  those  in 
the  Belvedere  at  the  Vatican,  or  in  the 
Palazzo  Contarini,  Venice — the  sensation 
is  one  of  pleasurable  astonishment.  There 
appears  to  be  something  well-nigh  miracu- 
lous in  such  examples  of  man's?  daring 
ambition.  Their  superb  balance,  the  grace- 
fulness of  the  upward  curving  lines,  the 
beauty  of  the  circumferential  envelope 
causes  a  suspension  of  judgment.  It  is 
as  a  whole,  as  complete  works  of  art, 
that  one  contemplates  them,  admiration  for 
constructional  difficulties  superbly  overcome 
being  only  subconscious  in  the  glow  of  en- 

46 


SPIRAL  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE  4; 

thusiasm.  This  feeling  of  the  exact  fitness 
(in  most  cases)  of  all  parts  is  apt  to  cause 
the  student  to  look  for  models  outside  the 
habitual  field  of  vision  of  builders,  that  is 
to  say,  to  ignore  what  has  gone  before. 

Yet  the  masterpiece  at  Blois,  the  de- 
lightful Scala  del  Bovolo  of  the  Contarinis, 
with  its  arcaded  and  colonetted  shell,  and 
each  with  their  convoluted  newel,  have  their 
prototypes,  not  in  something  as  intricate  as 
they  are,  but  in  the  scarred  trunk  of  a  palm, 
the  communication  pole  with  its  inserted 
right-angled  pegs  serving  as  steps.  It  is 
the"se  primitive  means  of  climbing  to  dwel- 
lings placed  above  the  ground  for  safety's 
sake  that  suggested  the  tube-like  stepped 
shafts  of  the  early  builders  in  stone  and 
brick.  The  evolution  was  gradual.  It  was 
long  before  the  steep,  dark  circular  stair- 
cases were  emancipated  from  englobation 
in  the  mass  of  castle  walls,  to  be  enclosed 
in  less  circumscribed  attached  turrets  and 
then  in  semi-isolated  towers.  It  is  perhaps 
worthy  of  note  here  that  just  when  the 
spiral  staircase  was  beginning  to  assume 
greater  intricacy  as  regards  the  geometric 
lines  of  design,  in  the  craftsmanship  of 
actual  construction  and  in  applied  decora- 


48  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

tion,  there  was  a  partial  reversion  to  the 
tree  type.  For  we  find  that  towards  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century  special  steps 
were  no  longer  made  to  carry  their  own 
portion  of  the  newel.  This  central  column 
became  a  solid,  isolated  affair,  in  the  cir- 
cumference of  which  the  narrow  ends  of 
the  steps  were  engaged.  In  fact  the  steps 
were  nothing  more  than  flat  surfaced  pegs, 
though  it  is  true  also  supported  at  their 
external  edges. 

In  England  examples  of  the  secondary 
and  intermediate  stages  of  this  form  of 
planning  are  fairly  numerous,  but  for  the 
more  elaborate  developments  we  have  to  go 
abroad.  In  these  islands  the  type  never 
reached  the  splendouis  that  it  did  in  Italy 
and  France.  The  nearest  approach  to  the 
liberal  proportions  and  beauty  of  finish 
associated  with  French  work  must  be 
sought  for  in  Scotland ;  for  instance  at 
Linlithgow  Palace  with  its  ribbed  vaulted 
roof,  springing  from  the  newel,  or  at  Fyvie 
Castle,  with  its  vaulted  soffit  and  succession 
of  arched  strengthenings. 

With  us  probably  the  most  finished 
specimen  is  that  in  Tattershall  Castle, 
Lincolnshire,    built   by   William  of  Wayn- 


SPIRAL  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE  49 

flete,  bishop  of  Winchester,  for  Ralph,  Lord 
Cromwell,  Lord  Treasurer  of  England,  soon 
after  the  first  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
The  spiral  staircase  is  in  the  south-east 
turret,  which  is  octagonal  on  the  exterior, 
is  100  feet  high,  overtopping  the  castle,  is 
machiolated  and  crenelated,  with  a  short 
pyramidal  roof  and  florated  finial.  It  is  a 
spacious  affair,  the  shaft  having  a  diameter 
of  22  feet  with  175  steps.  In  many  details 
it  presents  points  of  great  interest  to  the 
antiquarian  and  artist.  While  it  is  typical 
of  the  architectural  style  of  the  period,  it 
is  peculiarly  local,  inasmuch  as  in  contrast 
to  most  other  examples  it  is  built  of  brick, 
not  of  stone,  the  variety  used  being  of  a 
small  sized,  deep  colour.  But  a  stone  hand- 
rail, richly  carved,  is  sunk  into  the  brick- 
work, producing  a  distinctly  pleasing  effect. 
At  Kirkby  Muxloe  Castle,  Leicestershire, 
belonging  to  the  third  quarter  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  there  is  also  a  brick 
vaulted  staircase  with  brick  steps.  One 
notable  point  about  the  Tattershall  stair- 
case is  that  it  belongs  to  the  sinistral 
class. 

In   most   circular  staircases,    the   dextral 
spiral   is   used.     That  is  to  say,  the  spiral 


So  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

rises  from  a  base  point  circling  upwards 
towards  the  right.  This  is  the  most  con- 
stant form  of  the  spiral,  like  the  Archimedean 
helix  and  those  commonly  found  in  nature. 
But  occasionally  the  sinistral  form,  a  spiral 
rising  from  a  base  upwards  in  circles 
towards  the  left,  are  met  with  in  the  animal 
and  vegetable  kingdoms,  and  is  also  adopted 
by  man.  The  average  right-handed  man 
instinctively  traces  a  spiral  with  curves 
towards  the  right,  but  a  left-handed  man 
has  a  tendency  to  reverse  the  order.  It 
has  been  conjectured  that  the  comparatively 
scarce  sinistral  spiral  staircases  are  due  to 
the  efforts  of  left-handed  builders  who  found 
this  method  the  easiest  for  them.  There  is, 
however,  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  the 
theory  that  the  sinistral  curve  was  designedly 
adopted  as  one  of  the  precautionary 
measures  for  providing  defences  in  castles. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  circular 
newel  staircases  in  the  old  castles  were 
steep  and  narrow.  Now,  a  man  in  ascend- 
ing these  would  naturally  cling  to  the 
column.  If  he  were  ascending  a  dextral 
staircase  to  the  attack  his  left  hand  would 
be  seeking  support,  leaving  his  sword  hand 
free,    while   the   defenders   descending    the 


»    »  » v  »    •• 


,  •   .   ',  • 


H 
in    m 


SPIRAL  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE  51 

staircase  would  have  their  right  hand 
fumbling  along  the  newel.  For  defence 
purposes,  therefore,  the  reversal  of  this 
state  of  affairs  had  its  manifest  advantages. 
Hence  the  ancient  predilection  for  the 
sinistral,  as  we  see  in  Tantallon  Castle, 
West  Berwick,  and  in  the  various  stair- 
cases of  Blarney  Castle,  Ireland,  built  by 
Cormac  MacCarthy  about  1449. 

At  Tattershall  we  have  examples  of  the 
external  attached  turret  for  containing  the 
stairs.  This  idea  is  common,  too,  in  the 
monastic  establishments,  where,  indeed,  it 
probably  originated,  which  are  usually 
provided  with  two  and  very  often  more 
staircases.  The  Abbot's  House,  close  to 
Wenlock  Abbey,  Shropshire,  has  a  double 
gallery  along  the  whole  of  the  west  front 
covered  by  the  overhanging  eaves  of  the 
roof.  At  the  north  end  of  this  gallery  is 
a  turret,  entered  from  the  gallery,  and  con- 
taining a  large  spiral  staircase  leading  to 
the  gallery  and  all  three  floors.  In  the 
middle  chamber,  the  old  bakehouse,  is  a 
second  spiral  staircase,  of  small  size,  encased 
in  the  wall,  communicating  with  the  hall 
on  the  first  floor  and  a  small  room  in  the 
roof.      From   the   Abbot's    parlour    to   the 


52  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

south  of  the  hall,  a  straight  flight  of  steps  lead 
to  the  Abbot's  dormitory  placed  in  the  roof. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  this  was  only 
a  small  detached  part,  though  an  important 
one,  of  the  great  abbey.     It  is  certain  that 
the  main  edifice  contained  many  more  such 
stairs.    We  find  that  at  the  Carthusian  mon- 
astery, or  Certosa,  near  Florence,  there  are 
fifteen  circular  stairs  leading  from  the  cloisters 
to  the  monks'  cells,  while  the  main  building 
is  provided  with  six  straight  flights,  besides 
its  grand  double  flight  approach.     In   the 
small    Eastbury    Manor    House,    Barking, 
built    in     1572,    there    are    two    octagonal 
turrets,    placed  in  the  inside  angles  of  an 
interior   court,   and   rising   high   above  the 
roof.     They  contain  newel  spiral  staircases, 
the  steps  engaged  in  the  newels.     One  of 
the    staircases    has    a    handsomely   carved 
handrail  sunk  in  the  brickwork,  as  in  the 
East   Anglian   specimen.     When,  in    1590, 
Sir   Robert   Cecil  prepared  a  plan  for  the 
proposed     reconstruction    of    Sir    Thomas 
More's   house  at  Chelsea,  he  provided  for 
five   spiral   staircases,    each    placed    in    an 
external   turret,    besides    two    others    with 
straight  steep  flights,  although  the  mansion 
was  not  to  be  one  of  imposing  size. 


SPIRAL  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE  53 

A  writer  in  Notes  and  Queries,  remarking 
on  the  fact  that  internal  wooden  stairs  being 
placed  in  perforated  cages  are  not  uncommon 
in  Continental  churches  gives  some  par- 
ticulars of  a  singular  spiral  oak  staircase 
enclosed  within  a  traceried  casing.  This  is 
at  Whitchurch,  Hampshire.  "  In  the  south- 
west inner  angle  of  the  tower,"  he  says, 
11  is  a  curious  spiral  turret,  leading  to  the 
belfry.  The  steps  are  of  solid  oak,  the 
soffites  neatly  worked  ;  they  are  enclosed 
by  an  octangular  casing  of  woodwork, 
quaintly  rebated  together,  and  banded  at 
certain  heights  by  an  ornamental  string- 
course, each  stage  thus  separated  is 
pierced  by  small  coupled  windows  and 
quatrefoils,  where  necessary,  to  give  light 
to  the  stairs."  Far  more  instructive  ex- 
amples are  to  be  seen  at  the  south  church 
at  Shoreham,  Sussex,  where  two  great 
pillars  are  really  hollow  newels,  containing 
spiral  stairs  leading  up  to  the  galleries. 
Something  of  the  same  kind  is  to  be  seen  at 
St  Albans  Abbey  Church. 

In  Italy,  where  the  liberal  arts  were 
assiduously  cultivated,  staircases  on  a  large 
scale  were  common.  The  external  ap- 
proach  was  as   common   in   the   Peninsula 

E 


54  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

as  it  was  with  us,  although  such  approach 
was  more  often  from  an  internal  court- 
yard. Their  Romanesque  and  early  Gothic 
buildings  were  also  characterised  by  stair- 
cases contained  in  the  enormously  thick 
walls,  but  with  them  the  straight  flight, 
or  combination  of  such  flights,  was  more 
frequently  met  with.  In  the  matter  of 
spirals,  the  Italian  architects  achieved  mar- 
vellous works  of  art.  It  is  significant  of 
the  people  and  their  views  on  life  that  while 
many  of  these  treasures  are  anonymous, 
quite  a  fair  proportion  of  them  are  known 
to  be  the  creations  of  famous  artists,  es- 
pecially those  of  the  Renaissance. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  zigzag 
method  of  stepping  a  declivity.  From  the 
nature  of  most  of  the  local  topography  this 
and  kindred  devices  were  constantly  re- 
sorted to  by  the  Italians.  One  of  these  is 
quite  typical  of  the  country  and  is  known  as 
scala  cordonata,  or  a  cordini.  This  was  an 
inclined  plane,  with  broad  steps,  having  a 
rise  of  from  as  low  as  one  inch  to  perhaps 
four  at  the  utmost,  each  step  inclined 
somewhat  downwards,  often  unpaved  and 
merely  marked  by  a  stone  kerb,  or  string 
course  of  cobbles,    which   represented   the 


SPIRAL  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE  55 

"  cord."  Used  for  the  most  part  as  an 
approach  up  a  hill  or  mountain  side  to  the 
town  or  some  particular  building,  the 
principle  was  that  employed  thousands  of 
years  earlier  in  Syria.  It  was  capable  of 
being  applied  spirally,  as  we  see  to  this 
day,  in  the  very  ancient  stepped  ways  to 
the  rock  villages  of  the  Riviera,  highways 
which  described  a  complete  ascending 
circle  round  the  more  or  less  conical  hills, 
as,  for  instance,  at  Eza,  just  below  the 
Cornice  Road  near  Beaulieu. 

Examples  of  this  spiral  plane  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  Campanile  of  St  Mark,  Venice, 
the  Palazzo  San  Martino,  Viterbo,  and  the 
Chateau  d'Amboise,  built  under  Charles 
VIII.  The  celebrated  Venetian  Campanile, 
begun  in  the  tenth  century,  is  composed  of 
a  tower  within  a  tower,  and  between  the 
inner  and  outer  shell  a  spiral  inclined  plane 
was  contrived,  rather  difficult  and  steep, 
only  one  step  to  each  revolution  being  pro- 
vided. In  this  it  differed  widely  from  those 
at  Viterbo  and  at  Amboise,  up  which  a  fully 
armed  knight  could  ride  at  ease,  and, 
indeed,  at  Viterbo  a  carriage  could  be 
driven  from  bottom  to  top. 

In  Venice  there  is  a  beautiful  spiral  stair- 


56  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

case,  the  Scala  del  Bovolo,  in  the  Palazzo 
Contarini,  ensconced  in  the  Corte  de  Maltese 
at   the   back  of  the  piazza  Manin.      It  is 
contained   in   a   circular  stone  turret,   with 
open  arcades,  and  is  annexed  to  the  arcaded 
fagade  of  the  palace.     The  approach  is  from 
the  ground  floor  arcade,  by  a  straight  flight 
of  steps  under  the  gallery,  and  rises  to  about 
half-way  up  the  first  floor.     It  is  supported 
on  diminishing  arches  and  has  a  balustrade 
of    cylindrical     colonettes     and     a     heavy 
handrail.      The   staircase    is    of  the   newel 
type,  a  thick  column  rising  from  the  base  to 
the  roof,  into  which  the  steps  are  engaged. 
The  great  beauty  of  this  staircase  is  that 
the  arches  are  supported  on  small  slender 
columns    with    capitals.        These    rest    on 
stepped    stone    bases,    so    that   there   is   a 
broken    line    at    the    base,    rising   spirally, 
with  an  ascending  series  of  arches.     Behind 
these  colonettes  appears  the  carved  hand- 
rail resting  on   its  circular   balustrade,  this 
internal    line    describing    an    even    spiral. 
While   the    fagade  of  the   palace   has   four 
upper  arcades,  the  staircase  has  five  com- 
plete revolutions,  with  a  horizontal  colonnade 
at  the  top  and  bottom. 

An  open  colonnade  is  also  used  on  the 


SPIRAL  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE  57 

Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa,  only  in  this  instance 
the  arcading,  in  seven  storeys,  does  not 
follow  the  internal  spiral,  but  is  horizontal. 
In  place  of  the  delightful  upward  circling 
continuous  lines,  we  have  a  series  of 
colonnaded  tiers,  one  above  the  other.  It  is 
extraordinary  how  this  arrangements  breaks 
the  continuity  of  the  design  and  produces  a 
rather  commonplace  result,  Yet  in  mere 
magnitude  and  complexity  of  problems  the 
Pisan  example  out-classes  the  more  charming 
example  of  Venice.  There  is  much,  how- 
ever, that  is  very  remarkable  about  the 
tower  at  Pisa  and  its  helical  staircase. 
This  campanile  is  179  feet  high  and  is 
fifteen  feet  out  of  the  perpendicular.  It  is 
to  be  noted  that  above  the  third  floor  there 
is  a  rectification  of  the  inclination,  a  slight 
return  to  the  vertical  by  a  cunning  arrange- 
ment of  the  lengths  of  the  colonnades,  this 
twist  being  still  more  pronounced  in  the 
smaller  topmost  storey.  According  to 
Varsari,  and  many  who  have  followed  him, 
the  leaning  is  due  to  faulty  foundations, 
the  subsidence  having  declared  itself  soon 
after  the  commencement  of  the  work  by 
Guglielmo  and  Bonanno  about  1174.  It 
is  said  that  noticing  this  they  endeavoured 


58   STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

to  rectify  the  inclination.  It  has  been 
generally  supposed  that  the  tower  leans 
more  and  more  as  the  centuries  roll  by. 
Many  have  disputed  this  theory,  maintaining 
that  the  divergence  was  not  a  matter  of 
accident,  but  intentional  on  the  part  of  the 
architects,  who  wished  thus  to  draw  atten- 
tion to  the  campanile  of  the  church  from 
the  forest  of  other  towers  in  the  proud  city. 
It  is  to  be  noted  thst  several  other  buildings 
in  Pisa  exhibit  a  similar  leaning,  while 
towers  in  various  parts  of  Italy  do  the  same, 
notably  the  Garisenda  tower  at  Bologna, 
which  is  163  feet  high  and  10  feet  out  of  the 
perpendicular.  However,  when  the  stair- 
case itself  of  the  Pisan  tower  is  examined, 
it  sets  everything  at  rest  and  justifies  the 
twelfth  century  architects.  According  to 
measurements  taken  by  experts  sent  by  the 
Brooklyn  Museum  it  now  appears  that 
where  the  line  of  greater  slope  exists  the 
soffit  of  the  staircase  has  been  deliberately 
increased  in  height,  while  the  downward 
dip  was  so  arranged  that  it  threw  the  weight 
of  the  tower  off  the  overhanging  side.  No 
such  precautions  are  taken  above  the  critical 
place.  If  the  architects  had  really  set 
themselves  the  task  of  rectifying  the  error, 


SPIRAL    STAIRCASE    AND    LANDINGS,    FROM    MORLAIX,    FRANCE. 


SPIRAL  GOTHIC  AND  RENAISSANCE  59 

this  precaution  would  have  been  accentuated 
in  the  higher  storeys.  It  seems  clear, 
therefore,  that  the  leaning  was  intentional, 
and  we  can  only  wonder  why  this  serious 
complication  in  design  and  construction 
should  have  been  adopted.  We  have  not 
only  the  horizontal  arcades,  but  the  internal 
spiral  with  its  peculiar  twist.  Had  the 
architects  made  the  arcading  follow  the 
spiral  staircase,  not  only  would  we  have 
had  added  beauty,  but  their  purpose  in 
extraordinary  designing  would  have  been 
made  more  manifest. 

At  Rome,  Bramante  built  a  spiral  staircase 
connected  with  the  Belvedere  at  the  Vatican 
about  1444.  It  is  an  isolated  tower,  char- 
acterised by  a  daring  mixture  of  orders,  but 
so  well  blended  that  the  effect  is  far  from 
displeasing,  though  it  led  to  very  bad  results 
with  less  gifted  imitators,  who,  untram- 
melled by  the  Gothic  feeling,  gave  way  to 
extravagances.  The  staircase  itself  almost 
partakes  of  the  character  of  an  inclined 
plane,  so  broad  and  easy  are  its  steps  that 
a  man  on  horseback  could  walk  up  and 
down  them. 

Another  celebrated  staircase  of  this  kind 
is  that  built  about  the  middle  of  the  16th 


60  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

century    by    Giacomo     Barazzi,    called     II 
Vignola,   in    his   curious   pentagonal   castle 
of  Caprarola.     It  is  of  an  almost  pure  Doric 
style,    nevertheless   it    is   far  less   pleasing 
than  Bramante's  irregular  masterpiece.     In 
the  palazzo  Barberini,  Rome,  there  is  a  very 
fine    elliptical    spiral    staircase,    attributed 
variously  to  the  Cavalieri   Bernini  and  to 
his  sometime   pupil   and  unfortunate  rival, 
Borronomi.     It  is  of  the  Doric  order,  with 
coupled   columns  placed  on  pedestals,  and 
handsome  balustrade,  is  oval  and  rather  sug- 
gestive of  Vignola's  work.      Certainly   the 
work  is  far  more  in  the  style  of  Bernini  than 
that  of  Borronomi,  and  if  by  the  latter,  it 
belongs  to  his  earlier  period,  before  he  had 
given  way  to  the  madness  of  the  Renaiss- 
ance   extravagant    medley   and    decadence. 
Possibly  the  original  design  may  have  been 
by  him,  though  the  work  was  carried  on  by 
Bernini,  as,  indeed,  happened  in  other  cases. 
Belonging   to   the   succeeding   century  the 
spiral  staircase  by  Martino   Lunghi  in  the 
palazzo  Borghese  is  equally  worthy  of  note. 


CHAPTER  IV 

SPIRAL   STAIRCASES   (CONTINUED) 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  great  op- 
portunities offered  in  spiral  staircase  con- 
struction for  the  display  of  skill  in  planning 
and  decoration,  contributed  to  their  popu- 
larity and  retention  long  after  changed 
conditions  had  made  other  and  more 
commodious  systems  perfectly  feasible. 
The  persistance  of  custom  had,  of  course, 
much  to  do  with  their  multiplicity  in  all 
countries,  but  it  is  evident  that  architects, 
even  when  they  secured  a  freer  hand  and 
had  more  space  at  their  disposal,  revelled 
in  dealing  with  the  problems  involved,  and 
even  in  increasing  their  complexity. 

Coming  to  France,  we  find  many  very 
remarkable  spiral  staircases,  some  of  which 
fully  bear  out  this  statement.  Possibly  one 
of    the    oldest,    apart    from    those    in    the 

$1 


62  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

Romanesque  chateaux  forts,  and  certainly 
a  most  interesting  specimen,  is  the  Gothic 
half-timber  construction  placed  in  a  court 
of  what  is  popularly  known  as  La  Maison 
de  la  Reine  Bertha,  at  Chartres.  It  is  con- 
sidered to  belong  to  the  fifteenth  century. 

This  staircase  is  contained  in  an  external 
turret,  practically  corbelled,  for  the  lower 
end  of  the  spiral,  and  the  entrance,  is  placed 
on  the  inside.  The  internal  course  of  the 
spiral  is  expressed  externally  by  curved 
timbers,  and  the  outer  side  of  the  string 
course.  Of  these  curves  there  are  four,  in- 
cluding the  base.  The  surface  is  also  divided 
up  by  numerous  vertical  beams,  mostly  rest- 
ing on  the  string  timbers,  but  the  main 
beams,  to  the  number  of  three,  are  carried 
from  top  to  bottom,  and  are  terminated  by 
pendants,  carved  in  the  form  of  grotesque 
figures.  Sculptured  figures  act  as  corbels 
to  console  beams  supporting  the  moulded 
frieze  beneath  an  overhanging  pointed  tiled 
roof.  This  staircase  is  lighted  by  a  series 
of  square  windows.  It  is  of  the  newel  type, 
and  has  36  steps. 

Of  more  striking  appearance  is  the  early 
Renaissance  spiral  stone  staircase,  probably 
belonging  to  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the 


SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  63 

mediaeval  chateau  of  the  Comtes  de  Dunois 
at  Chateaudun,  Eure  et  Loire.  It  is  con- 
tained in  a  semi-isolated  turret  of  five 
storeys,  and  is  of  newel  type,  having  a 
massive  stone  column  from  base  to  roof. 
Two  archways  give  entrance  to  a  broad 
flight  of  easy  steps,  the  soffit  of  the  spiral 
being  plain  vaulted,  but  at  the  top  of  the 
lantern  the  vaults  sink  down  on  the  newel, 
with  numerous  branching  mouldings  resting 
on  a  series  of  colonettes  against  the  exterior 
wall.  On  each  of  the  five  storeys  there  is  a 
spacious  landing,  with  arched  windows  and 
handsome  balustrade,  each  of  the  storeys 
differing  somewhat  from  the  others.  The 
whole  design  is  Gothic  in  conception,  though 
the  decoration  belongs  to  the  Renaissance, 
but  without  undue  exuberance.  The  decor- 
ation is  confined  chiefly  to  the  newel  and  the 
balustrading.  Great  variety  is  shown  in 
this,  the  spiral  lines  of  the  string  course  of 
handrail  and  moulding  under  the  soffit 
blending  well  with  the  vertical  lines. 

This  exceptionally  spacious  and  beautiful 
staircase  is  strangely  suggestive  of  the  one 
at  Fyvie  Castle,  already  referred  to.  The 
latter,  however,  is  plainer,  without  arcaded 
landings,  and  the  space  between  the  steps 


64  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

and  the  soffit  is  less,  giving  the  section  of 
the  newel  a  somewhat  squat  appearance. 
Broad  horizontal  bands  of  foliated  carvings 
are  carried  round  the  newel  at  each  turn. 
The  soffit  consists  of  a  series  of  low  arches 
with  strong  mouldings  supported  by  corbels, 
and  moulded  panels.  On  the  outer  cir- 
cumference, under  each  arch,  are  carved 
armorial  shields. 

To  return  to  France,  we  have  records  of 
a  fine  spiral  staircase  contained  in  the  tower 
attached  to  the  Hotel  de  Bourgogne,  Paris. 
This,  too,  had  a  newel,  with  the  roof 
vaulting  curving  down  upon  it.  The  mould- 
ings represented  the  trunk  of  an  oak,  from 
which  branches  spread  over  the  soffit  all  the 
way  up.  This  is  interesting  from  the  Gothic 
character  of  the  building  (14th  century),  and 
seemingly  showing  a  reminiscence  of  the  old 
timber  staircases.  That  spirals  of  wood 
persisted  even  long  after  this  we  have 
evidence  from  Mathurin  Jousse,  that  curious 
writer,  excellent  mathematician  and  accom- 
plished master  builder  and  carpenter,  who 
published  several  useful  and  learned  works 
early  in  the  17th  century.  But  stone  evi- 
dently was  adopted  when  large  structures 
were  in  question. 


l->    »   '»   » 


)  )    >      11 


BALUSTRADE    FROM    GREAT    ST.    HELENS,    E.C. 


SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  65 

One  of  the  wonders  of  its  time  in  Paris 
was  Charles  V.'s  spiral  staircase  at  the 
Louvre.  It  was  placed  in  a  completely 
isolated  turret  in  one  of  the  courtyards, 
being  connected  with  the  palace  and  ad- 
jacent galleries  by  means  of  arcaded  land- 
ings. It  was  three  storeys  high,  crowned 
by  a  smaller  spiral  leading  to  the  terraced 
roof.  Raymond  du  Temple  was  the  archi- 
tect, and  we  know  that  he  found  great 
difficulty  in  procuring  sufficiently  large  slabs 
from  the  Paris  quarries  for  his  steps  within 
reasonable  time.  So  he  adopted  the  odd 
expedient  of  annexing  from  the  burial 
ground  of  the  Church  of  the  Innocents  the 
requisite  number  of  tombstones,  for  which 
he  paid  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  re- 
ceiving from  them  due  acquittance.  It  was 
these  memento  mori,  freshly  dressed,  that 
did  duty  as  steps  for  tired  royalty  and  the 
endless  train  of  courtiers.  It  was  an  escalier 
d  jour,  the  exterior  ornamented  with  sculp- 
tures in  low  relief.  At  the  entrance  were 
statues  of  two  men-at-arms,  and  above  were 
ten  figures,  each  placed  within  a  niche, 
standing  on  a  pedestal  and  under  a  dais. 
Above  these  were  the  statues  of  Charles  V,, 
his  Queen,  and  their  sons.     Yet  higher  up 


66  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

stood  the  effigies  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and 
St  John.    Shields  and  other  heraldic  devices 
were  plentifully  displayed.    Inside,  the  vault 
of  the  spiral  was  richly  traceried,  the  bosses 
bearing  shields  with  the  arms  of  the  king 
and  those  of  his  sons.     At  the  entrance  to 
the  apartments  of  the  king  and  queen  were 
two  life-sized  sculptured  figures  of  sergeants- 
at-arms.    This  interesting  staircase  was  long 
since  swept  away,   it  being  too  "  Gothic " 
in  feeling  for  the  later  disciples  of  classicism. 
Our  knowledge  of  this  vanished  part  of  the 
old  Louvre  we  owe  to  Sauval,  who  takes 
pleasure  to  describe  such  works  of  art  in 
his  "  Histoire  et  Antiquite  de  Paris"  (1724). 
One  of  these  descriptions  is  of  particular 
interest.     He  refers  to  a  dual  spiral  stair- 
case existing  at  the  church  of  the  Bernadins 
in   that   city,    which   was    begun    by    Pope 
Benedict  XII.  in  1336.   According  to  Sauval 
it  was  a  spiral  with  a  double    newel,   and 
therefore  must  have  been  oval,  or  some  such 
figure.     It  had  two  doors  at  opposite  sides, 
and  appears  to  have  been  a  combination  of 
a  dextral  and  sinistral  helix,  for  he  says  that 
two  people  could  go  up  and  down  at  the 
same  time  without  meeting  or  seeing  one 
another.     The  staircase  was   three   metres 


SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  67 

25  high,  and  each  riser  25  cm.  high.  Ap- 
parently the  steps  were  wedge-shaped,  and 
engaged  in  the  circumferential  shell,  as  well 
as  the  newels,  and  into  each  other,  for,  says 
our  author,  "  its  beauty  and  simplicity  con- 
sist in  the  interlacing,  wedging  and  grooving 
of  these  steps  one  into  the  other,  so  that 
they  grip  each  other  in  a  way  which  is  as 
steadfast  as  it  is  delightful." 

This  is  quite  suggestive  of  the  elaborate 
woodwork  mentioned  by  Jousse.  That 
master  in  a  second  book,  his  treatise  on 
the  art  of  carpentry,  gives  a  diagram  and 
details  for  constructing  a  revolving  double 
spiral  staircase.  The  spiral  arrangement  of 
steps  was  placed  within  a  wooden  drum, 
having  two  vertical  openings  from  top  to 
bottom  on  opposite  sides.  Both  top  and 
bottom  of  the  newel  fitted  into  sockets,  the 
whole  contrivance  being  placed  within  a 
circular  shaft,  with  openings  on  opposite 
sides  to  the  various  floors.  Jousse  points 
out  that  two  persons  could  enter  the  oppo- 
site openings  and  ascend  or  descend  without 
meeting  or  seeing  each  other  :  M  Thus  it  was 
a  staircase  common  to  the  building  without 
being  common."  The  peculiarity  was  that 
by  giving  the  door  a  half  turn  the  staircase 


68  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

was  closed.  This  would  be  comfortable 
enough  at  night  to  the  person  who  kept 
the  key.  It  will  be  seen,  too,  that  such  a 
revolving  spiral  might  be  made  to  serve 
three,  four  or  more  floors  or  apartments, 
two  at  a  time,  and  yet  still  preserve  its 
privacy.  It  is  quite  possible  that  this  ad- 
vantage was  quite  understood  in  the  large 
old  country  chateaux.  Violet-le-Duc  was 
puzzled  by  empty  shafts  with  doorways 
opening  into  them,  which  he  found  in  many 
castles,  until  he  remembered  Jousse's  tour 
de  force,  and  then  conjectured  that  these 
yawning  gulfs  once  contained  revolving 
staircases  of  wood. 

What  had  pleased  Parisians  at  the  Ber- 
nardins  on  a  small  scale  has,  on  a  truly 
regal  scale,  astonished  and  delighted  an  ever 
changing  crowd  of  visitors  to  the  chateau 
of  Chambord. 

A  peculiarity  of  this  chateau  is  that  the 
ground  floor  of  the  main  pile  is  occupied 
by  a  vast  guard-chamber.  Originally  it 
towered  up  to  the  terraced  roof,  thus 
monopolising  the  great  central  body,  but 
quite  early,  apparently  soon  after  the  build- 
ing was  ready  for  occupation,  it  was  divided 
horizontally  into  three  parts,  by  the  addition 


SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  69 

of  two  floors.  This  must  be  remembered 
when  we  consider  Charles  Trinqueau's  won- 
derful double  staircase,  which  stands  in  the 
middle  of  the  chamber.  It  consists  of  a 
right  and  left  spiral,  winding  round  a 
common  newel,  crossing  each  other  at 
regular  intervals,  but  never  mingling.  Each 
spiral  has  a  separate,  opposing  entrance, 
and  serves  two  vestibules  on  each  floor. 
It  is  30  feet  in  diameter,  has  274  steps, 
and  is  contained  in  an  open  cage,  formed 
by  three  series  of  superimposed  pillars,  and 
the  circular  courses  whence  spring  the  four 
vestibules  on  each  floor.  As  designed, 
therefore,  the  dual  spirals,  enclosed  in 
their  circle  of  columns,  stood  out  boldly 
with  two  crosses  formed  by  vestibules  and 
corridors  leading  to  wings.  That  must  have 
presented  a  marvellous  vision,  a  cobweb  of 
stone.  Even  as  it  is,  the  intricacy  of  the 
crossing  spirals,  with  their  handsome  balus- 
trades, the  central  newel,  pendants  and  the 
delicate  surface  sculpture  makes  the  whole 
most  entrancing.  As  Blondel  says  :  M  On 
ne  peut  trop  admirer  la  l£geret6  de  son 
ordonnance,  la  hardiesse  de  son  execution 
et  la  ddicatesse  de  ses  ornements,  perfec- 
tion qui  6tonne  et  laisse  a  peine  concevoir 

F 


70  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

comment  on  a  pu  parvenir  a  imaginer  un 
dessin  aussi  pittoresque."  At  the  terrace 
level  the  two  spirals  enter  a  tower  of  eight 
colonnades,  with  columns  and  pilasters. 
Above  this  is  a  smaller  tower,  containing  a 
single  spiral,  really  within  the  hollow  newel 
carried  up  to  the  cupola,  decorated  with  a 
balustrade  and  eight  buttresses  carved  with 
large  salamanders  and  crowned  F's.  This  is 
topped  by  an  open  belvedere,  surmounted 
by  a  handsome  cupola,  and  crowned  by  a 
gigantic  fleur-de-lis. 

Other  well-known  instances  of  the  dual 
spirals  are  those  in  the  Chateau  de  Pierre- 
fonds,  which  is  supposed  to  have  inspired 
Trinqueau,  at  Beverley  Minster,  and  the 
modern  instance,  the  staircase  at  the  Royal 
Courts  of  Justice,  London,  by  the  late  E. 
Street.  At  Pierrefonds  the  staircase  is  in 
an  external  octagonal  turret,  the  entrance 
from  the  courtyard  being  through  low  arch- 
ways, up  wide  steps. 

Chambord  possesses  two  beautiful  spiral 
escaliers  a  jour,  contained  in  octagonal 
turrets  placed  in  angles  of  the  courtyard,  each 
adorned  with  three  rows  of  columns  and 
crowned  by  cupolas  and  miniature  belve- 
deres surmounted  by  fleur-de-lis.     They  are 


SPIRAL  STAIRCASES 


approached  from  the  courtyard  through 
arcaded  screens,  and  the  three  spiral  curves 
are  marked  by  balustrades.  There  are 
eleven  other  spirals  in  an  equal  number 
of  turrets,  besides  a  number  of  straight 
flights  to  serve  the  nine  various  wings  of 
this  immense  building.  Trinqueau's  dual 
stairs  belong  to  about  1526;  others  in 
the  chateau  are  of  earlier  date. 

Possibly  an  even  more  fascinating  archi- 
tectural gem  of  the  fair  land  of  Touraine 
is  the  Royal  Chateau  of  Blois,  though  it 
has  been  severely  criticised  for  its  irregu- 
larity and  over  ornamentation.  It  contains 
two  spiral  staircases  in  external  turrets. 
One  belonging  to  the  fifteenth  century, 
having  been  built  under  Louis  XII.,  is 
placed  in  the  usual  situation,  an  angle  of 
a  courtyard  in  the  old  wing.  It  is  a 
dextral  helix  with  solid  newel.  This  large 
column  is  peculiarly  treated.  Following  the 
curve  of  the  spiral  the  base  is  thick  for 
about  four  feet,  and  is  then  turned  outward 
to  provide  a  handrail.  Above  this  are 
slender  columns  standing  on  pedestals,  but 
without  capitals,  the  summits  merging  into 
a  boldly  carved  spiral  cable  moulding,  with 
a   rounded   moulding  above.      There   is   a 


72  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

considerable  amount  of  decorative  surface 
sculpture,  but  of  a  restrained  character. 
Externally,  the  turret  is  adorned  with 
handsome  columns  having  foliated  capitals, 
the  windows  being  large  and  beautiful.  In 
any  other  mansion  it  would  attract  special 
attention,  but  is  outshone  by  the  charm  of 
the  second  and  more  recent  staircase. 

This  second  spiral  staircase  is  contained 
in  an  octagonal  turret  placed  in  the  centre 
of  the  interior  fagade.  It  is  a  sinistral 
escalier  a  jour.  Built  under  Francis  I.,  we 
have  some  details  concerning  its  construc- 
tion, but  no  direct  evidence  of  its  authorship. 
It  is  clearly  the  work  of  a  master-mind, 
artistically  being  far  superior  to  the  dual 
marvel  erected  under  the  same  monarch 
at  Chambord.  The  columns  forming  the 
turret  are  square,  with  fine  capitals  support- 
ing a  shell  decorated  cornice,  above  which 
is  a  balcony  with  carved  panels.  The 
lantern  tower  is  a  slightly  smaller  octagon, 
with  pilasters,  crowned  by  a  double  colonnade 
and  a  small  cup  pointed  dome.  Each 
balcony  is  provided  with  horizontally 
projecting  gargoyles.  The  spiral  is  traced 
externally  by  three  graceful  curves,  the 
lower  one  showing  a  balustrade,  the  upper 


:  :  :\:    y 

>»  »  »  *   * 


> .  »•. ' 


>  )  ) 

'        1    > 


GODINTON,    KENT. 


SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  73 

ones  carved  panels.  The  square  openings 
have  an  upward  rake  corresponding  to  the 
spiral.  At  some  unrecorded  date  canopied 
niches  containing  statues  were  added  to  the 
columns,  just  above  the  first  balustrade. 
A  piece  of  baroque  embellishment  with 
which  one  could  well  dispense.  The  in- 
terior of  the  tower  is  circular  and  contains 
a  solid  newel,  round  which  the  sinistral 
spiral  winds.  Spiral  mouldings  are  curved 
round  the  base  of  the  newel,  one  projecting 
to  form  a  handrail.  Above  these  are  slender 
square  columns,  supporting  spiral  curves. 
Where  the  newel  blends  with  the  soffit 
large  scallop  shells  are  carved  with  effective 
boldness,  contrasting  with  the  rather  inferior 
inspiration  of  the  arabesques  crowded  on 
newel,  balustrade  and  panels.  It  is  probable 
that  this  work  of  the  niggling  school  of 
Renaissance  belongs  to  the  same  date  as 
the  added  niches  and  statues.  The  steps  are 
of  solid  blocks  of  stone  cut  with  a  delightful 
outward  bow,  suggestive  of  Hogarth's  Line 
of  Beauty.  Taken  as  a  whole,  it  is  a 
singularly  fine  piece  of  work,  most  carefully 
designed  in  every  part. 

Mr  T.  A.  Cook  in  his  captivating  book 
on  u  Spirals  in  Nature  and  Art,"  advances 


74  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

strong  arguments   in    favour    of  Leonardo 
da   Vinci   as   architect   of  this    exceptional 
staircase.       The    Italian    genius    was    un- 
doubtedly in   Touraine   at  about  the   time 
that   this   turret   was   erected,    and    in   the 
service  of  Francis   as   builder.      Leonardo 
was   a   left-handed   man,   his  sketch  books 
prove   that   he   was   an   ardent    student   of 
spirals     in     all     forms,    not    excepting    the 
beautiful    combinations     formed    in    shells. 
Mr  Cook  not  only  believes  that  the  Italian 
designed   this   staircase  and  its  turret,   but 
was    inspired    by   a    study    of    the    voluta 
vespertiliOy   occasionally  seen   as  a  sinistral 
sport,  which  is  a  spiral  with  vertical  bands, 
corresponding  to   the   curves  and   columns 
of  the  turret.     The  case  made  out  appears 
sound,   the   arguments  convincing,  and   we 
may  accept  the  conclusion  without  necessarily 
subscribing   to  the  much   wider  claim  that 
builders  of  spiral  staircases  were  probably 
often  inspired  by  shells.     The  resemblance 
of  the   Scala   del    Bovolo    in    the    palazzo 
Contarini  to  the  shell  scalaria  scalaris,  and 
that  at  the  house  of  La  Reine  Berthe  to 
the    mitra  papalis,    are    almost     certainly 
fortuitous.     If  we   reflect   that   even   these 
splendid   examples    have   their  forerunners 


SPIRAL  STAIRCASES  75 

in  primitive  rock  and  timber  structures,  the 
final  forms  will  appear  to  us  admirable,  but 
not  as  requiring  inspiration  outside  of  the 
builders'  craft  experience. 

We  have  already  referred  to   the   fairy- 
like  spiral    in    Mainz   Cathedral,  the   steps 
radiating  from  a  central  newel  and  carrying 
on  their  outer  edges  colonnettes,  which  form 
an   enclosing   cage.     In   the   church   of  St 
Etienne    du    Mont,    Paris,    the    late    16th 
century  or  early  17th  century  rood  screen 
has  a  pair  of  spiral  staircases  winding  round 
two  massive  columns ;  they  are  respectively 
dextral  and  sinistral   spirals,   not   enclosed, 
but  protected  by  carved  panels,  the  tracery 
being   like    broad    flat    ribbons.      In   both 
instances  there  would  appear  to  have  been 
a   conscious   symbolism    in    these    graceful 
renderings  of  the  emblematic  ladder.     They 
are  as  utilitarian  and  conspicuous  as  those 
monumentally  more  important  staircases  at 
Rouen  and   Burgos,  but  are  handled   with 
a  refinement  and  daring  suggestive  of  the 
spiritually  enthusiastic  worker. 

A  15th  century  spiral  of  a  very  different 
character  is  to  be  seen  at  the  wooden  house 
near  Upsala,  Sweden,  where  Gustavus 
Wasa  took  refuge  in  1529.     In  the  lowest 

A 


76  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

section  it  is  an  outside  open  staircase,  in 
two  flights  parallel  to  the  house  wall,  with 
intermediate  landing,  covered  by  a  lean-to 
roof,  and  supported  on  square  posts.  The 
parapet  is  composed  of  interlaced  slat  panels. 
At  the  level  of  the  first  floor  this  stairway 
enters  a  spiral,  contained  in  a  circular  turret, 
half  of  which  projects  as  a  corbel,  supported 
by  posts.  The  second  landing  at  the  root 
of  the  spiral  communicates  with  an  open 
gallery,  and  these  give  access  to  the  house. 
It  is  a  quaint  device,  which  appears  to  carry 
us  back  to  the  Abbot  of  Wenlock's  domestic 
economy,  and  even  to  the  far  away  Roman- 
ised house  in  Syria. 


CHAPTER  V 

STATE  AND   OTHER   STAIRCASES   OF   THE 
GOTHIC    AND    RENAISSANCE 

When  the  castle  and  fortified  dwelling 
types  gave  place  to  a  less  severe  style  of 
domestic  architecture,  Gothic  masters  were 
still  dominated  by  the  traditions,  and, 
indeed,  the  practical  necessity  of  designing 
both  mansions  and  public  edifices  in  a  way 
to  render  them  capable  of  defence.  The 
quadrangular  plan  was  generally  adopted, 
with  an  inner  courtyard,  and  the  ancient 
keep  was  represented  by  the  turret  in  its 
varied  forms,  such  as  the  conically  roofed 
donjons  of  France,  and  the  square  open 
arcaded  belvederes  of  Italy. 

As  a  rule  entrance  was  provided  through 
a  gateway,  either  an  attached  porch  or  a 
door  and  vaulted  passage,  leading  into  the 
court.     Thence  an  outside  staircase  led  to 

77 


78  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

the  first  floor.     Often  enough  these  staircases 
were  placed  in  an  angle,  parallel  to  the  wall, 
as  is  the  case   at  the  Palais  des  Compts, 
Paris,   and  at  the   Bargello,   Florence.     In 
the  latter  building,  the  14th  century  palace 
of  the  podestas,  there  is  a  fine  and  inter- 
esting example  of  Gothic  external  staircase. 
The  main  body  of  the  palace,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  court,  has  an  open  arcade  on  the  first 
floor.     To  this  a  broad  flight  of  stone  steps, 
placed  at  right  angles  to  the  gallery,  against 
the   side   wall   leads   up.      It   has   a   solid, 
sloped  parapet,   with  a  stepped  course  re- 
presenting  the   outer    edge   of    the   stairs. 
The  pillar,  serving  as  newel,  is  carried  well 
above  the  parapet  and   supports   a   seated 
lion.     Nearly  at  the  top  of  the  flight  is  a 
small    landing   under   a   square,    crenelated 
gateway.      Thence   there   is  a   short   open 
flight  to  the  arch  of  this  gallery.     We  see 
here   an   advance   on   the   old  idea  of  the 
subsidiary     importance     of    the     staircase. 
Although  it  is  placed  in  an  angle,  where  it 
interferes  least  with  the  open  space,  it  is 
given     monumental     proportions     and     is 
treated  with  a  desire  to  decorative  effect. 

With    the    definite    recognition    of    this 
monumental  value,  the  flights  were  removed 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES  79 

from  the  lateral  walls  and  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  facade.  Certainly  early 
specimens  are  direct  reminiscences  of  the 
Romanesque  treatment,  the  single  flight 
clinging  to  the  wall,  supported  on  a  solid 
masonry  screen  or  a  series  of  diminishing 
arches,  ending  in  a  landing  placed  before 
the  doorway.  But  even  when  such  flights 
were  large  and  richly  decorated  they  lacked 
dignity.  Far  better  results  were  reached 
when  the  flight  was  either  placed  at  right 
angles  to  the  fagade,  or  if  still  clinging  to 
the  wall,  was  duplicated,  a  right  and  left 
flight  meeting  at  a  large  landing  before  the 
entrance  doorway. 

In  Italy  and  Spain  a  peculiar  modification 
was  early  introduced,  and  in  the  latter 
country  still  persists  as  a  feature  of  national 
domestic  architecture.  The  staircase  in  the 
courtyard  was  maintained  parallel  to  the 
wall,  to  which  it  was  attached,  but  placed 
under  the  ground  floor  arcade,  thence  leading 
to  the  upper  galleries.  This  had  a  two-fold 
advantage  :  it  saved  space  and  protected 
those  using  the  flights  from  exposure  to 
the  rigours  of  winter,  but  more  particularly 
the  glaring  sunrays.  Moreover,  it  gave 
them  a  semi-privacy.     Many  of  these  half 


80  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

concealed  open  stairways  are  spacious,  easy 
of  ascent  and  handsomely  decorated.  They 
are  sometimes  continued  from  gallery  to 
gallery,  and  may  be  let  into  a  recess  in 
the  building  itself.  In  the  patio  of  the 
Archiepiscopal  Palace,  Alcala  de  Hernares, 
under  the  back  colonnade  is  a  broad,  easy 
flight  against  the  wall,  to  a  landing,  then  a 
short  flight  at  right  angles  to  the  left  con- 
ducting to  the  upper  colonnaded  gallery. 
The  parapets  are  often  beautifully  decorated 
and  boldly  carved  newels,  heraldic  embellish- 
ments being  usual. 

Internal  courtyards  and  patios  were  not 
always  possible,  and  then,  at  first  chiefly 
in  towns,  the  external  stairways  were  placed 
against  the  outer  fac^ade,  the  single  and 
double  parallel  and  the  right  angle  flights 
being  adopted,  sometimes  conducting  to  a 
mere  landing,  at  others  to  a  terrace  or 
arcaded  gallery.  Many  fine  Mediaeval  ex- 
amples are  to  be  seen  in  Italy,  France, 
Germany  and  Flanders.  The  Flemish 
hotels  de  ville  alone  afford  an  extensive 
and  varied  series,  some  of  them  taking 
the  form  of  open-air  tribunes  or  reception 
ante-chambers  to  the  grand  halls. 

It  was  not  only  in  Italy  and  Flanders  that 


1    •  »    ?•■•••• 


BURTON    AGNES. 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES   81 

the  outside  staircases  to  first  floors  prevailed 
to  a  late  date.  The  style  was  persisted  in 
by  the  citizens  of  many  other  countries  even 
in  great  cities.  For  instance,  at  Lyons  it 
was  necessary  as  late  as  1604  t0  Pass  a 
bye-law  prohibiting  the  building  of  any  new 
outside  staircase  of  wood.  Structures  in 
more  permanent  materials  were  not  at  that 
time  forbidden.  It  is  both  curious  and 
interesting  to  find  this  fashion  persisting 
largely  in  New  England,  in  connection 
with  the  "  Colonial  "  style  of  architecture, 
partly  as  a  reminiscence  of  old  feudal 
England,  but  quite  as  much  owing  to  Knick- 
erbocker influence. 

The  practice  of  placing  external  stairways 
under  the  arcaded  galleries  of  a  cortile, 
even  in  a  recess  in  the  wall  at  the  back  of 
the  colonnade,  seems  to  have  suggested 
the  grand  staircase  on  a  monumental  scale. 
These  differ  widely  from  the  Romanesque 
conception,  for  they  are  not  adjuncts  or 
even  encysted  parts,  but  integral  to  the 
planning,  and  main  features  therein. 

What  may  be  considered  a  transition  type 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  celebrated  Scala  dei 
Gigantic  in  the  Ducal  Palace  at  Venice. 
This  is  a  spacious  flight  in  the  magnificent 


82  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

inner  courtyard.  It  is  a  broad  flight  of 
marble  steps,  divided  into  two  sections  by 
a  platform,  and  conducts  to  a  landing  under 
the  loggeta,  in  two  storeys,  the  arcading 
supported  on  slim  columns.  It  was  de- 
signed early  in  the  15th  century  by  Antonio 
Rizzio,  and  decorated  by  the  leading  artist 
of  his  and  the  succeeding  period.  The 
steps  themselves  are  inlaid  with  decorations 
in  lead.  The  parapets  and  every  part  of  the 
structure  are  a  mass  of  fine  sculpture  due  to 
Domenico  and  Bernadino  da  Mantua.  This 
decoration  consists  of  arabesques  of  the 
early  Renaissance  period,  a  glorious  em- 
broidery of  floriated  scrolls,  sometimes 
merging  into  beautiful  winged  figures  and 
birds,  intermingling  here  and  there  with 
Vitruvian  scrolls,  cornucopias  overflowing 
with  fruit,  and  strongly  carved  lion's  marks 
in  allusion  to  the  winged  emblem  of  the 
Evangeltst,  the  cognisance  of  the  Re- 
public. There  is  a  sparing  use  of  vases 
and  architectural  features,  with  rare  military 
and  naval  trophies.  Much  of  this  was 
gilded,  and  the  touch  of  brilliant  colour 
was  not  wanting.  At  the  head  of  the 
stairway  are  colossal  statues  of  Mars  and 
Neptune     (the    genii    of    the    amphibious 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES  83 

Republic),  due  to  the  chisel  of  the  inimitable 
Jacopo  Sansovino.  It  was  at  the  head  of 
this  superb  flight  of  steps  that  the  Doges  were 
crowned,  standing  between  the  Gods  of  War 
and  the  Waves,  surrounded  by  his  richly 
habited  Court  and  in  the  sight  of  the  gaily 
robed  nobles  and  valiant  captains,  filling  the 
yard  below  and  crowding  the  colonnaded 
loggeta. 

Of  truly  internal  staircases  this  casquette 
of  many  marvels  encloses  a  large  number, 
the  most  memorable  of  which  is  the  Golden 
Staircase,  with  its  two  parallel  flights,  whose 
barrel  vaulted  soffit  loaded  with  Vittorio's 
heavily  moulded  stucco  glittering  with  gold, 
often  with  rich  colours,  and  framing  brilliant 
hued  paintings  by  Francesco  and  others, 
has  been  described  in  the  first  volume  of 
this  series  (chapter  vi.  "  Ceilings  and  their 
Decoration,").  The  walls  are  a  continuation 
of  the  stuccoed  ceiling  embellishments, 
blending  with  the  heavily  carved  marble 
balustrade  and  broad  handrail. 

But  to  retrace  our  steps.  Gothic  builders 
could  not,  of  course,  leave  staircases  unde- 
rrated, for  every  feature  of  a  building  was 
made  the  object  of  consummate  craftsman- 
ship.   Whether  wood  or  stone  was  employed, 


84  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

or  even  brick,  newels,  strings,  balusters  and 
handrails  were  all  lavishly  carved,  often  with 
beautiful  tracery,  in  which  colour  played 
its  part.  But  as  a  rule  these  internal 
stairways  were  placed  parallel  to  walls, 
and  in  a  large  measure,  hidden.  Here  and 
there  were  to  be  found  fine  flights  leading 
from  the  hall  to  upper  galleries.  More 
frequently,  however,  these  were  tucked 
away  under  the  galleries  or  enclosed  behind 
screens.  An  exceptionally  beautiful  example 
of  this  last  method  of  treatment  is  to  be 
seen  in  Rouen  Cathedral,  where  the  open 
alternating  flights  of  the  fine  library  stair- 
case is  shut  off  on  the  ground  floor  by  an 
elaborately  carved  screen  between  towering 
columns,  the  upper  flights,  with  their  tracery 
panels,  showing  through  the  forest  of 
flying  arches  and  columns.  A  beautiful 
specimen  of  this  application  of  Gothic 
tracery  is  shown  on  the  plate  facing  page 
no.  It  is  from  the  collection  at  the  Victoria 
and  Albert  Museum.  This  was  the  screen 
to  a  staircase  leading  to  a  rood-loft.  While 
in  this  instance  the  closely  and  deeply- 
carved  panels  are  of  solid  wood,  the  panels 
were  frequently  pierced,  almost  always 
so   when   of  stone.     Similar   screens   were 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES   85 

also  constantly  used  in  domestic  architect- 
ure. 

In  the  fine  Maison  de  Jacques  Coeur  at 
Rouen  there  is  an  interesting  Gothic  stair- 
case, showing  influence  of  the  Renaissance. 

In  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum  there 
is  an  oak  newel  semi-spiral  staircase,  with 
side  galleries  complete.  It  comes  from 
Morlaix,  Brittany,  and  dates  back  to  the 
15th  century,  but  is  almost  purely  Gothic 
in  feeling,  though  rude  in  execution.  The 
steps  are  solid,  wedge-shaped  pieces  of 
timber,  winding  upwards  to  serve  three 
short  lateral  flights,  starting  from  landings 
and  conducting  to  open  galleries.  The 
outer  newel,  forming  a  conjunction  between 
the  spiral  staircase  and  the  galleries,  is  a 
single  balk  of  timber,  from  top  to  bottom, 
faceted,  and  decorated  with  diamond  carv- 
ings, like  the  notches  on  a  palm  tree.  On 
the  lower  section  there  is  the  carved  figure 
of  an  angel  holding  a  shield,  and  at  the 
springing  to  each  landing  a  figure  in 
ecclesiastical  garments  is  placed  in  a  niche. 
Towards  the  upper  part  a  change  takes 
place  in  the  diamond  notchings,  which 
develop  into  layers  of  well-formed  leaves, 
the  layers  neatly  overlapping  one  another. 


S6  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

A  relatively  similar  variation  in  decoration 
is  to  be  seen  on  the  uprights  of  the  rood- 
loft  staircase  screen  just  referred  to,  a  point 
which  appears  very  suggestive.  At  the 
level  of  the  galleries  collars  of  leaves  ring 
the  newel,  and  attached  to  these  wreaths 
are  grotesque  masks,  and  midway  between 
the  landings  are  two  heraldic  shields,  sur- 
rounded by  cordeliers.  Right  at  the  top 
of  this  huge  beam  is  an  upright  figure  in 
flowing  ecclesiastical  attire.  The  galleries 
have  outer  panels  decorated  in  a  rude 
fashion  with  linen  fold  carving.  At  the 
top  of  the  handrail  of  the  stairs  leading 
from  landings  to  galleries  are  grotesque 
squatting  figures,  and  at  the  end  angles 
of  these  galleries  are  boldly  carved  animals, 
also  grotesque.  Undeniably  in  design  this 
staircase  with  its  attached  galleries  is 
excellent,  giving  good  service,  picturesquely, 
without  taking  up  much  room.  Almost 
every  inch  of  the  structure  bears  witness 
to  the  anxious  care  and  enormous  manual 
labour  in  decorating  what  must  have  been 
one  of  the  most  prominent  features  in  an 
important  house,  but  as  regards  finish  and 
detail,  it  is  decidedly  heavy  with  the  signs 
of  decadence. 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES  87 

A  staircase  having  not  a  little  affinity 
with  the  above,  though  far  more  primitive 
in  design  and  workmanship,  is  described 
by  Britton  when  dealing  with  Moreton  Hall, 
Cheshire,  which  was  built  about  1559.  A 
gallery  running  along  the  south  side  of 
the  house  on  the  third  and  topmost  floor 
was  reached  by  a  spiral  staircase  winding 
round  "  the  trunk  of  an  immense  oak  tree, 
which  is  sunk  in  the  ground,"  which  brings 
us  very  close  to  the  pegged  tree  boll  referred 
to  in  our  first  chapter.  Moreton  Hall,  by 
the  way,  was  a  structure  of  wood  and  stucco. 

Undoubtedly  the  Renaissance,  whatever 
its  faults,  did  much  to  add  to  the  dignity 
of  the  staircase,  and,  speaking  broadly, 
the  refinement  of  its  decoration. 

Great  as  is  the  beauty  of  the  library 
stairway  in  Rouen  Cathedral,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  surpass  in  impressiveness  the 
stairs  of  the  Puerto  alto  de  la  Coroneria 
in  Burgos  Cathedral.  This  16th  century 
work  of  Diego  de  Silve  leads  from  the 
transept  to  the  north  door,  thirty  feet  above 
the  floor  level.  A  short  flight  of  twelve 
broad  marble  steps,  the  lower  four  bowed 
gracefully  outwards,  leads  to  a  landing. 
Thence  spring  outwardly  a  flight  right  and 


88  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

left,  each  reaching  a  landing  and  then  turn- 
ing inwardly  to  the  top  landing  fronting  the 
great  carved  north  doorway.  At  the  top 
of  the  first  landing,  under  an  arch  beneath 
the  great  portal,  is  an  altar.  A  marble 
balustrade  protects  the  approach  flight,  and 
couchant  on  these,  heads  downwards,  are 
two  lions.  The  upper  flights  have  balus- 
trades of  most  marvellously  elaborate  iron 
work,  wrought  by  Cristabal  Andino. 

The  same  striving  after  spectacular  effect 
is  noticeable  in  much  of  the  Italian  work. 
Palladio  included  among  the  desiderata  he 
had  laid  down  for  the  construction  of  stair- 
cases in  the  neo-classic  buildings  the  follow- 
ing points  :  that  they  should  be  well-lighted, 
spacious  and  easy  to  mount.  For  attaining 
the  last-named  point  he  held  that  the  stair- 
case should  be  twice  as  long  as  it  was  high. 
Even  if  this  ratio  of  inclination  was  not 
always  maintained,  it  was  an  ideal  kept 
steadily  in  view.  Sometimes  this  was  done 
at  the  cost  of  an  undue  multiplying  of 
the  flights,  arranged  in  successive  alternat- 
ing or  parallel  flights,  divided  by  halfway 
landings,  which  the  French  descriptively 
name  palters  de  repos.  In  such  cases  there 
was  a  return  to  the  Mediaeval  practice.     As 


,      i        »  -»  »» 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES  89 

a  rule,  however,  the  long  flight  of  easy 
gradient  was  adopted.  The  Scala  d'Oro 
in  the  Doges'  Palace,  Venice,  may  be 
instanced.  The  magnificent  marble  stair- 
case, adorned  with  antique  statues,  has 
thirty  steps,  each  of  a  single  piece  of 
marble,  nearly  10  feet  long  and  over  2 
feet  broad.  Often  odd  devices  were  hit 
upon  to  add  character  to  the  construction. 
In  the  vestibule  staircase  of  the  Biblioteca 
Laurenziana,  Florence,  designed  by  Michael 
Angelo  and  carried  out  by  Giorgo  Vasari, 
we  find  a  threefold  flight,  placed  abreast. 
The  middle  one,  with  bowed  steps  and 
voluted  ends,  passes  up  between  marble 
dwarf  pillar  balustrade  and  handrail  to  a 
narrow  landing,  then  a  short,  single  flight, 
with  the  marble  balustrade  resumed,  leads 
to  the  door.  The  outer  flights  are  broad, 
unprotected  steps,  and  were  possibly  in- 
tended as  pedestals  to  be  occupied  on 
grand  ceremonial  occasions  by  halberdiers,  or 
lacqueys  holding  wands  or  lighted  torches. 
This  seigneural  method  of  illuminating, 
adopted  alike  in  the  old  castles  and  the 
later  Renaissance  mansions,  must  have 
added  wonderfully  to  the  picturesqueness 
of  gala   nights,    when   men   vied   in   glory 


90  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

of  coloured  silks  and  velvets,  the  glitter 
of  gems  and  gold,  with  the  fair  ladies. 
Some  reminiscence  of  these  stairway  at- 
tendants has  been  kept  up  by  the  use  of 
sculptured  or  pictured  figures.  As  we  have 
seen,  Charles  V.  had  effigies  of  sergeants- 
at-arms  guarding  the  landings  of  his  ex- 
ternal spiral  staircase  at  the  Louvre,  and 
we  see  the  same  idea  carried  out  with  the 
splendidly  modelled  life-sized  mounted  men- 
at-arms  at  the  foot  of  the  grand  staircase 
in  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  Paris,  holding,  in 
place  of  lances,  lanterns  on  the  top  of  poles, 
or,  in  a  rather  more  banal  way,  the  modern 
classically  draped  figures  of  Truth  or  of 
Virgins,  standing  on  the  newels,  or  in 
alcoves  on  halfway  landings,  holding  aloft 
lamps  or  electric  torches.  But  we  find  the 
idea  of  attendants  on  duty  on  the  staircases 
carried  out  in  various  ways  right  through 
the  centuries.  Even  the  heraldic  and  sym- 
bolical beasts  so  used  have  a  somewhat 
similar  value.  We  saw  in  the  lower  balus- 
trade of  the  staircase  in  Burgos  Cathedral 
the  two  crouching  lions,  placed  there,  of 
course,  in  deference  to  the  Scriptural  allusion 
to  these  beasts  and  to  St  Mark.  On  the 
staircase  of  the   University  of  Genoa,  we 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES  91 

also  see  a  lion  much  in  the  same  position, 
only  here  the  full-sized  king  of  beasts  is 
shown  crawling  down  the  inclined  plane.  In 
the  much  later  Palazzo  Reale,  Caserta,  there 
is  a  pair  of  colossal  lions  standing  up- 
right. On  a  smaller  scale  they  were  very 
popular  with  men  of  the  Tudor  and  Jacobean 
periods,  dispersed  among  human  figures  of 
all  sorts,  disporting  themselves  on  the  newels 
and  handrails. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  period,  as  already  mentioned 
in  the  previous  chapter,  a  number  of  stair- 
cases to  every  house  of  any  pretensions  was 
the  rule.  The  diversity  and  sumptuousness 
of  these  is  well  brought  out  by  that  prince 
of  satirists,  Frangois  Rabelais,  who  in  his 
description  of  the  Abbey  of  Thelema  says  : 
"  In  the  midst  there  was  a  wonderful  scalier 
or  winding  stairs,  the  entry  whereof  was 
without  the  house,  in  a  vault  or  arch,  six 
fathoms  broad.  It  was  made  in  such  sym- 
metry and  largeness  that  six  men-at-arms 
with  their  lances  in  their  rests  might  to- 
gether in  a  breast  ride  up  to  the  very  top 
of  all  the  palace."  Apart  from  this,  how- 
ever, "  between  every  tower  "  (there  were 
six   of  them),  "in   the    midst  of  the  said 


92  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

body  of  building,  there  was  a  pair  of  wind- 
ing, such  as  we  now  call  lanthorn  stairs, 
whereof  the  steps  were  part  of  porphyry, 
which  is  a  dark  red  marble  spotted  with 
white,  part  of  Numidian  stone,  which  is  a 
kind  of  yellowish -streaked  marble  upon 
various  colours,  and  part  of  serpentine 
marble,  with  light  spots  on  dark  green 
ground,  each  of  those  steps  being  two-and- 
twenty  feet  in  length,  and  three  fingers 
thick,  and  the  just  number  of  twelve  betwixt 
every  rest,  or,  as  we  now  term  it,  landing- 
place.  In  every  resting-place  were  two  fair 
antique  arches  where  the  light  came  in,  and 
by  those  they  went  into  a  cabinet,  made 
even  with  and  of  the  breadth  of  the  said 
winding,  and  the  re-ascending  above  the 
roofs  of  the  house  ending  conically  in  a 
pavilion.  By  the  vyze  or  winding  they 
entered  on  every  side  into  a  great  hall, 
and  from  the  halls  into  the  chambers." 

The  great  fault  of  many  early  disciples  of 
Palladio,  and  even  of  the  giants  of  the 
Renaissance,  was  to  exaggerate  the  part 
played  by  the  grand  staircase,  and  therefore 
the  space  to  be  occupied  by  it.  No  longer 
relegated  to  turrets,  or  made  to  cling  to 
lateral  walls,  the  staircase  was  placed  right 


STATE  AND  OTHER  STAIRCASES  93 

in  the  middle  of  the  building,  often  occupy- 
ing an  immense  space,  and  splitting  the 
edifice  in  twain,  thus  adding  to  the  per- 
plexities of  planning.  The  difficulty  is  well 
overcome  at  the  Doges'  Palace,  because 
there  the  old  notion  of  the  central  court- 
yard is  maintained,  and  the  grand  staircase 
is  built  mainly  at  the  expense  of  this  open 
space.  But  it  was  not  so  with  other  palaces 
in  town  or  country,  and  the  disadvantage 
was  keenly  felt  in  France,  where  Mdlle  de 
Rambouillet  insisted  that  her  new  house  in 
Paris  should  be  provided  with  a  grand  stair- 
case not  in  the  middle,  but  at  one  side. 
By  this  means,  while  access  was  just  as 
easy,  a  better  suite  of  State  apartments 
could  be  arranged  on  the  first  floor.  The 
innovation  had  a  lasting  effect,  as  far  as 
classic  architecture  and  what  came  of  it  was 
concerned,  but  while  proving  an  advantage 
as  influencing  planning,  the  style  later  de- 
generated into  the  habit  of  providing  one 
main  staircase  for  the  general  use  of  the 
whole  house,  with  a  small  back  stairs  for 
domestic  service.  This  was  in  every  way 
an  inferior  arrangement  to  the  provision 
of  a  grand  stairs  to  the  first  floor,  with 
shorter  flights  thence  to  the  upper  floors, 


94  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

and  one  or  more  service  staircases  from  top 
to  bottom,  the  method  which  was  retained 
by  builders  of  the  Tudor  and  Jacobean 
styles. 


CHAPTER  VI 

LATER   RENAISSANCE   DEVELOPMENTS 

With  the  17th  and  18th  centuries  there 
came  a  pronounced  modification  of  the 
Renaissance  style.  This  was  owing  to  the 
influence  of  Palladian  teaching,  with  its 
often  pedantic  insistance  on  mathematical 
precision  in  the  matter  of  proportion,  and 
the  necessity  for  close  adherence  to  the 
purity  of  the  orders.  The  net  result  was 
frequently  far  from  classical  in  feeling, 
because  a  system  of  measurement  by  rule 
was  necessarily  less  true  to  an  ideal  than 
rule  of  thumb  methods.  The  strictly 
scientific  mind  was  doomed  to  miss  much 
that  gives  life  to  Greek  art,  the  secret  of 
which,  although  intuitively  grasped  by  the 
pioneers  of  the  Cinquecento,  and  utilised 
according  to  their  lights,  has  really  been 
revealed  only  to  our  generation. 

95 


96  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

However,  the  effect  of  this  change,  as  far 
as  concerns  staircases  was,  broadly,  to  en- 
hance their  monumental  value,  while  bring- 
ing greater  regularity,  combined  with  a 
simplification  of  decorative  detail.  This  was 
usually  achieved  with  some  loss  of  origi- 
nality, and  without  a  compensating  gain  in 
grandeur,  while  the  restriction  of  surface 
decoration  did  not  always  connote  lightness 
and  elegance.  The  products  of  the  fertile 
imagination  and  almost  impatiently  facile 
manipulation  of  a  Sansovina,  the  heterodox 
handling  of  the  orders  by  a  Bramante  please 
the  eye,  and  have  a  gossamer  appearance 
when  contrasted  with  the  coldly  uninspired 
handling  of  perfectly  unimpeachable  columns, 
archways,  pediments,  and  cornices.  Too 
much  of  the  work  of  this  period  lacked  in- 
spiration, and  is  consequently  heavy. 

One  of  the  show  specimens  of  this  phase 
is  the  Scala  Regia,  built  by  Bernini  at  the 
Vatican.  It  has  four  flights  of  broad,  easy 
marble  steps,  adorned  with  double  rows  of 
Ionic  columns,  each  cut  from  a  single  piece 
of  beautifully  coloured  marble.  Much  is 
gained  here  by  the  vista  of  tall  pillars,  the 
blend  of  various  colours  and  judicious 
gilding. 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  97 

Imposing  in  a  way,  but  belonging  to  a 
different  order  of  things,  is  the  Scala  Santa, 
leading  to  the  Church  of  St  John  in  the 
Lateran  Palace.  This  is  a  construction  of 
the  1 6th  century,  Pope  Sixtus  V.  having  en- 
trusted the  rebuilding  of  the  Palace,  Church, 
and  monastic  establishment  to  Domenico 
Fantana.  It  is  a  five-fold  straight  flight. 
The  middle,  the  actual  sacred  stairway,  has 
28  stone  steps,  encased  in  wood,  which  are 
said  to  have  been  brought  by  St  Helena 
to  Rome  from  the  Palace  of  Pontius  Pilate, 
and  to  be  those  up  which  the  Saviour 
walked.  On  either  side  of  this  are  two 
flights  of  39  steps,  and  then  two  outer 
flights  of  35  steps  each.  In  the  lateral  walls 
of  this  staircase  are  two  narrow  concealed 
stairs,  leading  in  the  reverse  direction  from 
the  Church  to  the  monastery. 

In  the  palazzo  Barberini,  Rome,  we  find 
a  most  interesting  contrast  in  staircase 
designing.  The  palace  was  built  by  Pope 
Urban  VIII.  on  plans  prepared  by  Carlo 
Maderna,  many  of  the  details  being  en- 
trusted to  Borronimi,  and  others  to  Bernini, 
who,  indeed,  completed  the  work.  On 
entering  a  long  vaulted  vestibule,  divided 
longitudinally  by  a  row  of  columns,  to  the 


98  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

right  is  a  large  oval  spiral  staircase,  the 
designing  attributed  to  Borronimi,  though 
the  execution  is  probably  due  to  Bernini. 
This  has  been  already  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  chapter.  To  the  left  is  a  broad 
flight  of  straight  marble  steps,  carried  round 
a  large  square,  open,  pillared  cage.  This 
is  due  to  Bernini.  At  the  back  of  the 
vaulted  hall  are  three  arches,  admitting  to 
an  inner  semicircular  vestibule.  At  the 
farther  end  are  three  broad  semicircular 
steps,  beyond  which  are  three  broad  steps 
leading  to  an  oval  staircase,  with  right  and 
left  flights,  ending  in  straight  flights  to  the 
first  floor.  There  are  subsidiary  staircases 
in  other  parts  of  the  palace,  as  shown  on 
plans  given  here.  (Plate  facing  page  204.) 
Of  much  later  date,  but  probably  the 
most  strikingly  handsome  staircase  of  its 
class  in  Rome,  is  the  work  of  Cosino 
Morelli,  and  is  found  in  the  Palazzo  Braschi, 
which  he  built  for  the  Duca  di  Braschi, 
nephew  of  Pius  VI.  It  is  composed  of 
long,  easy  alternating  flights,  connected  by 
short  flights  and  landings  at  right  angles, 
the  open  cage  thus  forming  an  oblong.  It 
had  vaulted  soffits,  supported  by  tall,  slender 
columns  of  Oriental  red  granite,  and  corres- 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  99 

ponding  pilasters,  standing  on  square  bases, 
and  adorned  with  small  capitals  of  acanthus. 
The  walls  are  panelled  in  marbles  of  varied 
and  rich  colours,  while  the  broad,  nosed, 
steps,  wide  flat-topped  handrail  and  balus- 
trade of  diminishing  fluted  columns  are  of 
pure  white  marble.  At  the  top  of  the 
staircase  is  an  open  gallery.  The  soffits 
of  the  arches  and  staircase  are  decorated 
with  richly  coloured  arabesques  and  paint- 
ings. It  presents  a  happy  blend  of 
Renaissance  decorative  treatment  with  the 
Palladian  style. 

Before  leaving  Rome  we  may  deal  briefly 
with  two  excellent  plans  of  modern  work, 
given  by  Le  Tarouilly,  and  one  of  which  is 
reproduced  in  this  volume.  The  first  plan 
is  that  of  a  small  18th  century  mansion  on 
the  piazza  di  Campo  Marzo,  attributed  to 
Giovanni  Stern.  Facing  the  entrance  of 
a  small,  severely  plain,  ovoid  vestibule  is 
a  flight  of  straight  stairs,  carried  up  between 
pilastered  walls,  with  square  panelled  soffit. 
At  the  top  is  a  landing  with  balustrade  and 
trelliswork,  looking  out  into  the  court 
beyond.  Not  quite  half-way  up  the  first 
flight  is  a  landing,  with  recess  to  left  and 
right,  that  on  the  right  giving  access  through 


ioo  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

an  arch  to  a  corridor.  The  balustraded 
landing  is  carried  well  to  the  right,  and  here 
a  second  flight  leads  to  the  upper  floor. 
There  is  a  service  staircase  of  alternating 
flights,  on  the  right  of  the  vestibule,  with 
its  own  entrance  from  the  street,  and  a 
small  spiral  stairway  approached  from  the 
outside  by  a  long  passage.  It  is  quite  an 
excellent  treatment.  Equally  happy  in  its 
way  is  the  other  example  given  to  Le 
Tarouilly.  It  is  a  combined  plan  of  the 
palazzo  Maccaroni,  in  the  via  Margana, 
with  a  house  at  the  back,  and  wedged 
into  the  mass  in  a  most  awkward  fashion. 
Entering  the  mansion  an  open  courtyard 
is  seen  to  the  left,  while  straight  in  front 
a  vaulted  passage  leads  to  a  staircase  with 
easy  flights,  open  balustrading  showing  a 
clear  view  of  the  hills  beyond.  The  stair- 
case in  the  other  house  is  cleverly  placed 
in  the  impinging  wedge,  which  would  have 
been  almost  useless  for  any  other  purpose. 
This  plan  also  offers  much  to  admire  in 
the  ingenious  way  with  which  very  con- 
siderable difficulties  have  been  overcome. 

In  the  17th  century  palazzo  Durazzo, 
Genoa,  designed  by  Bartolomeo  Bianco, 
we   see   yet  another   way  of  carrying   out 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  101 

that  favourite  Italian  notion  of  connecting 
a  good  perspective  view  with  the  staircase. 
In  this  instance  the  broad  flight  of  stone 
steps  leading  from  the  outer  vestibule  to 
the  inner  hall  is  carried  up  between  two 
walls,  the  groined  soffit  supported  by  two 
rows  of  three  columns  placed  on  square 
bases. 

Luigi  Vanvitelli's  staircase  of  honour  in 
the  palazzo  Reale,  Caserta  (18th  century), 
is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  very  long, 
easy  flights,  the  broad  steps  having  very 
low  risers.  There  is  a  single  flight  to  a 
fine  half-way  landing,  then  a  right  and 
left  flight  to  the  State  apartments.  The 
balustrade  is  broad  and  rather  low,  the 
newels  being  represented  by  square  pillars, 
buttressed  by  reversed  voluted  consoles. 
On  pedestal  projections  from  the  midway 
landing  are  two  colossal  lions  looking  down 
the  first  flight.  The  whole  construction 
is  in  marble.  In  the  palazzo  Madama, 
Turin,  also  of  the  18th  century,  Filippo 
Juvora  has  a  right  and  left  flight  rising 
to  a  midway  landing,  then  return  right 
and  left  flights  to  the  main  landing.  The 
soffit  is  vaulted.  Here  the  marble  panelled 
walls  are   decorated    with    mouldings,   the 

H 


102  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

newel  pillars,  topped  with  grotesque  lion 
heads,  blending  into  foliations.  The  en- 
trance vestibule  is  adorned  with  columns. 
This  arrangement  was  much  favoured  at 
the  period,  and  may  be  seen  in  a  some- 
what simplified  form  at,  among  other 
places,    the    Brera,    Milan. 

In  France  the  Renaissance  influence 
quickly  made  itself  felt,  first  by  a  more  or 
less  florid  decoration  of  the  domestic  Gothic, 
with  gradually  increasing  introduction  of 
classic  columns,  pilasters,  pediments  and 
so  on,  and  then  by  a  decided  adoption  of 
the  Italian  masters'  teaching.  Palladio  had 
always  many  admirers,  who  founded  a 
distinct  school,  with  such  disciples  as  the 
Mansards,  uncle  and  nephew.  The  latter 
was  an  adept  in  the  "  grand  manner,"  well 
suited  to  his  patron,  Louis  XIV.  A 
characteristic  piece  of  his  work  was  the 
great  marble  staircase,  known  as  the 
"  Escalier  des  Ambassadeurs,"  at  the 
Palace  of  Versailles. 

Spaciousness,  richness  of  materials,  bold- 
ness in  design,  and  the  gorgeousness  of 
decoration,  all  combined  to  make  this  stair- 
case, on  which  Mansard  and  Lebrun 
lavished  their  best  efforts,  a  conspicuous  and 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  103 

much  talked  about  monument.  As  the  two 
artists  left  it,  it  was  undoubtedly  imposing, 
the  massiveness  of  the  treatment  of  vari- 
coloured marbles  and  beauty  of  the  mural 
and  ceiling  paintings,  making  it  very  im- 
pressive. It  was  a  fitting  frame  for  the 
crowds  of  bewigged,  richly  dressed  courtiers 
and  ambassadors,  and  like  them,  not  with- 
out a  pretentiousness  that  called  for  criti- 
cism. This  staircase  was  placed  in  the  last 
pavilion  on  the  right  in  the  second  court. 
The  vestibule,  entirely  lined  with  marble, 
was  39  feet  long  by  13  feet  wide,  the  ceiling 
enriched  with  scrolls  and  war  trophies  in 
gilt  bronze,  the  doors  of  wrought  iron 
resplendent  in  gold.  Passing  up  in  flights 
of  three  wide  steps  through  three  archways, 
the  staircase  hall  was  entered,  also  panelled 
in  coloured  marbles,  and  with  a  most 
elaborate  geometrically  designed  marble 
floor.  Mansard  began  his  staircase  with 
eleven  steps,  forming  the  half  of  an  octagon 
in  plan.  Quite  elaborate,  but  by  no  means 
so  pleasing  as  would  be  semicircular  or 
semi-elliptical  steps.  These  lead  to  a  land- 
ing, with  a  fountain  under  an  alcove,  and 
above  a  bust  of  the  Grand  Monarque. 
Right  and  left  broad  flights  of  steps,  twenty 


104  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

to  each  flight,  conduct  to  the  gallery  giving 
admission  to  the  State  apartments.  The 
balustrade,  designed  by  Caffiari  and  Les- 
pagnaudel,  was  composed  of  a  broad,  flat, 
gilt  bronze  handrail,  supported  by  broad 
panels  of  marble  and  columnar  balusters  in 
gilt  bronze,  given  inelegantly  enough,  an 
upward  rake  corresponding  to  the  slope  of 
the  stairs.  There  was  a  considerable  amount 
of  ornamentation,  trophies,  and  so  on,  which, 
as  well  as  the  capitals  of  columns  and 
pilasters,  were  in  gilt  bronze. 

Lebrun's  decorative  and  painting  work 
was  happily  conceived  and  splendidly  carried 
out.  Using  architectural  members  and  per- 
spective drawing,  he  managed  to  add  vast- 
ness  to  the  hall  and  give  it  an  atmosphere 
of  grandeur.  Round  the  hall  he  painted  an 
open  gallery  with  balustrade.  Two  of  the 
openings  appear  over  the  staircase,  and  two 
others  opposite  to  these.  Rich  draperies 
hang  over  the  balusters,  and  grouped  in  the 
open  spaces  are  representative  men  and 
women  of  different  countries  of  Europe  and 
America,  and  of  Africa  and  Asia.  Behind 
appear  columns  and  far  vistas  of  sky  and 
hills.  Then  there  were  panels  containing 
pictures   of  four  of  Louis'  most  renowned 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  105 

battles,  and  others  filled  with  classic  war 
trophies.  Above  this  he  placed  a  projecting 
cornice  of  coloured  marbles,  enriched  with 
heavy  ornaments  in  gilt  bronze.  Standing 
on  this  were  twelve  termini,  supporting  a 
second  cornice  of  the  Corinthian  order. 
Between  the  termini  were  paintings  of  alle- 
gorical figures  mingling  with  symbolic  de- 
corations, while  over  the  open  galleries  were 
further  galleries,  with  sky  behind,  showing 
the  columns  and  soffits  in  perspective,  while 
gorgeously  plumed  peacocks  trail  led  their 
tails  over  the  balustrade.  The  ceiling  is  an 
elaborate  affair,  carried  on  short  columns, 
for  the  admitting  of  light,  and  most  gor- 
geously decorated  with  designs  in  high 
relief,  all  richly  coloured. 

It  was  a  much  admired  staircase,  and 
often  more  or  less  closely  imitated.  Perhaps 
the  best  known  of  these  adaptations  was 
carried  out  in  quite  modern  times,  in  1878. 
It  is  of  vari-coloured  marbles,  and  is  in  the 
Herrenchiensee  Palace,  built  by  Ludwig  II. 
of  Bavaria.  It  has  an  outer  vestibule  and 
a  staircase  hall  approached  through  arch- 
ways. A  broad  flight  of  steps  leads  to  a 
landing  with  a  fine  group  of  statuary  under 
a  recess.      Thence   there   are   broad,  easy 


106  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

flights  to  right  and  left  to  open  landings, 
with  handsome  balustrades.  Columns  and 
archways  are  seen  at  the  top  of  the  hall, 
with  perspective  views  seen  through  the 
colonnade.  The  prominent  cornice  of  Ver- 
sailles is  repeated,  and  a  second  cornice 
supports  statues. 

Another  specimen  of  late  French  Renais- 
sance which  has  found  many  admirers  and 
has  inspired  some  of  them,  is  the  grandiose 
circular  staircase  at  the  Palais  Royal,  Paris, 
with  its  straight  flight  from  the  entrance, 
passing  between  columns  and  under  arches 
to  a  landing,  and  then  circling  right  and  left 
to  the  top  landing  ;  the  whole  within  a  lofty, 
many  windowed,  richly  decorated  vaulted 
cage.  The  heavy  iron  balustrade,  sealed  to 
the  corniced  stone  string,  is  a  good  specimen 
of  solid  work. 

In  England  the  Renaissance  influence 
coming  rather  late  has  left  little  of  mark  on 
staircases  until  quite  recent  times.  Some  of 
Inigo  Jones's  work,  however,  still  remains,  as 
the  stairs  at  Coleshill,  planned  round  an 
oblong  hall,  with  ascending  and  descending 
flights  connected  with  an  open  landing.  On 
careful  study  of  this  specimen  it  will  be 
seen    that    the  columnar    balusters,    unlike 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  107 

those  of  Caffieri  and  Lespagnaudel,  are 
designed  horizontally,  being  adjusted  to  the 
slope  by  base  and  cap,  the  effect  being 
infinitely  better. 

A  staircase,  formerly  in  Chandos  Street, 
Strand,  by  Inigo  Jones  had  floriated  carved 
panels,  much  in  the  style  of  Grinling  Gibbon 
when  in  a  restrained  mood.  The  large 
square  newels  had  sunken  panels,  with  con- 
ventional floral  and  ribbon  drops,  which  look 
quite  dignified.  His  newels  often  took  the 
form  and  proportions  of  low  pedestals,  with 
spreading  bases,  well  formed  cornices  and 
flat  tops,  level  with  the  broad,  flat  handrails, 
deeply  carved  on  the  under  surfaces.  The 
balusters  were  usually  round  dwarf  pillars, 
with  square  tops  and  bases,  and  rather  pot- 
bellied shafts,  but  with  regular  foot,  cup-like 
flower  ornament,  projecting  rim  and  spread- 
ing cup  joined  to  the  square  top.  The 
strings  were  generally  a  succession  of  heavy 
bead  mouldings,  often  with  a  wreath  of 
leaves. 

Of  all  the  staircases  that  remain  to  us 
by  Inigo  Jones,  however,  that  in  Ashburn- 
ham  House,  Westminster,  is  justly  most 
famous.  It  stands  in  that  part  of  the  once 
fine  mansion  which  has  happily  been  pre- 


108  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

served.  Britton  and  Pugin,  in  their  work 
on  London  public  buildings,  wrote  of  this 
specimen  :  "  Of  nearly  square  shape,  with 
four  ranges  of  steps  placed  at  right  angles 
one  with  the  other,  and  as  many  landings, 
it  was  the  passage  from  the  ground  to  the 
first  floor.  Its  sides  are  panelled  against  the 
wall,  and  guarded  by  a  rising  balustrade. 
The  whole  is  crowned  by  an  oval  dome, 
springing  from  a  bold  and  enriched  entab- 
lature supported  by  a  series  of  twelve 
columns.  At  the  landing  are  fluted  Ionic 
columns."  The  dome  is  elliptical,  and  the 
cupola  is  raised  on  four  groups  of  three 
slender  columns,  light  pouring  in  between 
the  cupola  and  the  gallery.  A  daring  piece 
of  planning,  quite  in  keeping  with  Grecian 
practice,  is  that  the  dome  is  smaller  than 
the  gallery  below,  the  pillars  sloping  in- 
wards, thus  adding  considerably  to  the 
apparent  height.  The  landings  display  a 
most  elabarate  system  of  jointing  the  boards, 
the  pattern  being  geometrical,  with  a  fine 
inlay  on  nosings  and  risers.  So  fine  is  it 
in  design  and  careful  in  finish  that  it  formed 
the  subject  of  one  of  Sir  John  Soane's 
lectures  delivered  before  the  Royal  Aca- 
demy. 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  109 

A  clever  way  of  dealing  with  a  stairway 
in  a  great  house  was  carried  out  at  Audley 
End,  Essex,  but  whether  it  was  due  to  John 
Thorpe,  the  original  architect,  or  to  Van- 
brugh,  the  remodeller,  it  is  impossible  to 
say,  though  it  has  some  of  the  staginess  and 
mystery  loved  by  the  latter.  It  is  placed 
at  one  end  of  the  long  hall,  and  is  shut  off 
by  a  screen  pierced  by  three  archways  and 
three  upper  arched  openings.  The  middle 
arch  leads  to  a  vestibule,  and  facing  it  is 
an  open  gallery  landing.  Under  this  is  a 
doorway  admitting  to  right  and  left  flights 
of  broad  steps  up  to  the  gallery.  It  is  a 
device  that  has  inspired  many  builders,  and 
certainly  has  many  advantages  when  an 
imposing  effect  is  not  aimed  at. 

Both  at  Hampton  Court  and  Kensington 
Palace  we  have  examples  of  Sir  Christopher 
Wren's  manner  in  designing  staircases.  At 
Hampton  Court  the  King's  Great  Staircase  is 
approached  from  the  colonnaded  open  court, 
and  is  found  in  a  large,  oblong  hall.  The 
stairs  wind  up  two  sides  of  the  hall  to  an 
open  landing  on  the  third  side.  The  steps 
are  broad  and  easy,  projecting  beyond  the 
supporting  wall  and  arches,  without  a  string. 
The  handsome  wrought  iron  balustrade,  but 


no  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

with   very   plain   handrail,    is   probably   by 
Jean   Tijou.      In    Wren's   specification   for 
this  work   he  says :   "  The  great  stairs  to 
be   made   with    steps    of    the    Irish   stone, 
such  as  are  at  Kensington,  but  larger  and 
easier,   with   iron  rails    of  good  work,   the 
floor  and  hearth  paces   to   be  paved  with 
marble   and   the   walls   to    be   wainscoated 
twenty  feet  high,  with  fine  doorcases."     As 
a  matter  of  fact  the  wainscoating  was  re- 
placed   by  panels   painted  in    monochrome 
with  war  trophies,  whilst  above  these  and 
on  the  ceiling  Verrio  let  loose  his  wildest 
fancy,  painting  a  confused  medley  of  alle- 
gory  and   history,    with   a   full,   hasty   and 
flamboyant  brush,  as  already  fully  described 
in  the  first  volume  of  this  series. 

In  Kensington  Palace  there  are  two  stair- 
cases by  Wren.  The  King's  Grand  Staircase 
is  not  seen  quite  as  the  great  architect  left 
it.  It  has  three  easy  flights,  clinging  to 
the  walls,  two  half-landings  and  a  gallery 
landing  over  arches.  The  balustrade  of 
heavy  wrought  iron  work  is  contemporary, 
and  possibly  due  to  Jean  Tijou.  Wren 
had  left  everything  with  "plain  painting 
and  gilding,"  but  William  Kent  decorated 
the   walls   and    ceiling   with   the  elaborate 


ROOD    LOFT    STAIR    SCREEN. 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  1 1 1 

scenic  paintings  as  described  (and  pictured) 
in  "  Ceilings  and  their  Decoration."  The 
Queen's  Staircase,  however,  is  practically 
as  he  left  it.  It  is  a  very  good  specimen 
of  the  classic  style  carried  out  with  severe 
plainness  in  oak.  Panels,  steps,  stiles  and 
rails  are  all  in  this  wood.  It  is  of  a  peculiar 
grain  and  veining,  and  is  conjectured  to  be 
of  Norwegian  origin.  The  panelling  is  re- 
markable for  the  fact  that  the  wood  was 
carefully  cut  and  fitted  so  that  the  veining 
radiates  regularly  from  common  centres. 
This  shows  that  Wren,  unlike  many 
builders  before  and  after  him,  did  not 
intend  his  wood  to  be  painted. 

Wren's  work  was  generally  lighter  than 
that  of  Jones,  turnery  rather  than  carving 
being  adopted,  and  the  newel  sometimes 
replaced  by  a  circular  cluster  of  balusters, 
the  handrail  being  carried  round  in  a  wreath 
or  volute.  However,  he  utilised  Grinling 
Gibbon's  carvings  on  occasion.  Both  Jones 
and  Wren  were  fond  of  panelling  their  stair- 
cases, and  also  of  decorating  the  upper  parts 
and  soffits  with  massive  plaster  mouldings. 

An  oak  staircase  belonging  to  the  year 
1670,  formerly  in  Botolph  Lane,  City,  was 
carved  in  high  relief,  the  strings  with  large, 


ii2  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

open,  acanthus-like  leaves.  The  lower  part 
of  the  handrail  as  well  as  the  square  newels 
were  carved.  An  interesting  detail  was  that 
the  panels  on  the  walls  were  given  the  same 
rake  and  level  as  the  pilasters  corresponding 
to  the  newels.  This  is  now  at  the  Victoria 
and  Albert  Museum. 

Another  fine  example  in  the  same  collec- 
tion, though  of  a  lighter  character  and  later 
date,  was  originally  in  Hatton  Garden,  Hol- 
born.  It  is  particularly  noteworthy  for  the 
graceful  and  practical  way  in  which  the 
initial  flight  of  five  steps,  with  its  double 
balustrade,  is  handled.  The  curve  and  hip 
in  the  handrail  are  characteristic,  so  are  the 
brackets  on  the  string  and  the  open  gallery 
landing. 

Still  in  the  same  collection  and  approxi- 
mately of  the  same  period  is  the  five  short 
flights  of  steep  stairs,  with  top  landing, 
formerly  in  Great  St  Helens,  City.  The 
newels  are  decorated  with  falling  sprays  of 
laurel  leaves  in  sunken  panels,  and  the  upper 
ones  have  pendants.  The  balusters  are  of 
the  dwarf  pilaster  type,  given  an  ugly 
upward  rake  with  the  slope  of  the  stairs. 

Jones  and  Wren  were  not,  we  know,  able 
to  set  the  fashion   for  simplicity  of  style. 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  113 

Ware,  Kent  and  others  were  less  severe 
in  taste  and  by  no  means  happy  in  efforts 
of  decoration.  A  curious  affectation  of  sim- 
plicity, involving  misplaced  ornamentation, 
however,  belonged  to  an  earlier  period  than 
theirs,  the  early  seventeenth  century,  as  seen 
in  the  rustic  work  on  newels,  balusters  and 
pilasters  as  at  Holland  House,  Rawdon 
House  and  elsewhere.  This  pitting  of  the 
stone  or  plaster,  and  covering  the  surface 
with  vermiform  patterns,  in  supposed  imi- 
tation of  rough-hewn  rock,  was  in  inspiration 
from  the  bad  French  rocaille  style. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   TUDOR   AND   JACOBEAN 

Among  other  results  brought  about  when 
the  Wars  of  the  Roses  came  to  an  end, 
and  the  nobility,  abandoning  their  castles, 
imitated  the  novo  homo  by  taking  up  their 
residence  in  more  spacious  country  man- 
sions, built  more  and  more  in  a  sprawling 
fashion  and  rarely  more  than  two  storeys 
high,  was  the  forcing  of  staircases  into 
greater  prominence.  Then  new  problems 
had  to  be  faced. 

Need  for  stubborn  defence  was  no  longer 
the  dominant  factor  in  domestic  architecture, 
either  in  town  or  country.  On  the  other 
hand  it  was  necessary  to  provide  easy  and 
quick  access  to  every  part  of  the  mansion, 
still  to  a  large  extent  planned  in  perpendic- 
ular   divisions.      Of    course   this   civilising 

march  of  the  builder's  art  was  slow  at  first. 

114 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN      115 

For  a  long  time  the  castle  idea  held 
sufficient  sway  to  determine  the  placing 
of  staircases  in  turrets,  occasionally  external, 
but  more  commonly  tucked  away  in  the 
inner  angles  of  courts  or  wings.  Many 
examples  of  these  solutions  still  remain. 
But  when  the  mansion  spread  in  more  or 
less  irregular  fashion,  and  a  rearrangement 
of  apartments  took  place,  it  was  felt  that 
the  spiral  staircase  no  longer  sufficed  for  all 
purposes.  So  the  State  staircase  came  into 
existence,  being  placed  somewhere  towards 
the  centre  of  the  building,  and  leading  from 
the  hall  to  the  principal  chambers. 

It  was  of  this  phase  that  Francis  Bacon 
wrote  in  his  essay  on  Building.  He  places 
the  State  apartments  in  the  front  part  of  the 
house  and  having  regard  to  the  importance 
of  these  rooms,  he  says :  "  The  stairs.  .  .  to 
the  upper  rooms  let  them  be  upon  a  fair 
open  newel,  and  finely  railed  in,  with  images 
of  wood  cast  in  brass  colour,  and  very  fair 
landing  place  at  the  top."  On  orthodox 
ideas  the  domestic  quarters  were  to  be  at 
the  back,  built  round  a  quadrangle,  and  for 
the  service  of  these  "  in  all  four  corners  of 
that  court  fair  staircases  cast  into  turrets  on 
the    outside    and    not   within    the   row   of 


n6  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS      \ 

buildings  themselves.  But  these  towers 
are  not  to  be  of  the  height  of  the  front, 
but  rather  proportionable  to  the  lower 
building.'' 

Happily  the  Chancellor's  directions  in 
this  last  particular  were  often  disregarded, 
with  great  gain  to  the  picturesqueness  of 
the  Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  manor 
houses.  A  brief  consideration  of  existing 
instances  will  soon  convince  that  the  stair- 
case turrets  rising  up  boldly  from  the  back, 
mingling  with  the  clustered  chimney-stacks, 
help  much  to  stamp  the  characteristics  of 
each  building.  For  the  retention  of  external 
turrets  to  accommodate  secondary  stairs 
there  is  much  to  be  said  that  remains  valid 
to  this  day,  and  this  aspect  of  the  question 
will  be  discussed  in  due  course. 

When  it  was  decided  that  the  State 
staircase  must  be  large,  easy  to  mount, 
central,  with  freedom  of  access,  and  serve 
chiefly  for  communication  between  ground 
and  first  floors,  only  part  of  the  problem 
was  stated.  If  built  in  the  front,  it  was 
too  exposed  to  be  quite  comfortable  or 
even  sufficiently  impressive.  If  placed  in 
the  centre,  it  took  up  too  much  room,  thus 
adding  fresh  perplexities  in  the  distribution 


i  »       ^       »     o         > 


»      »    .      •   -  * 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN      1 17 

of  apartments.  Both  these  situations  were 
tried  and  may  be  found  in  large  and  small 
mansions  of  that  period.  On  the  whole  it 
was  seen  that  placing  the  staircase  at  the 
back  of  the  hall  enabled  the  most  to  be 
made  of  the  available  space,  and  the  stairs 
themselves  to  be  utilised  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. 

Apart  from  the  turret  spirals,  staircases 
of  these  periods  were  almost  invariably  of 
wood.  Heavy  timbering  was  common,  but 
flat  boards  were  also  used,  and  frequently 
delicate  pieces  of  turnery  and  carving  intro- 
duced. The  carpenters  were  called  upon 
to  undertake  elaborate  joinery,  and  carried 
out  their  work  with  conspicuous  success,  as 
evidenced  both  by  the  appearance  of  the  com- 
pleted structures  and  their  lasting  qualities. 

A  class  of  staircase  particularly  worthy 
of  study  as  showing  steps  in  the  evolution 
from  the  old  order  unto  the  new  is  that 
with  four  newels,  and  short  flights 
winding  round  them.  These  are,  of 
course,  elaborations  from  the  solid  and 
hollow  central  newels  of  spiral  stairs.  At 
Rake  House,  Witley,  we  find  a  square 
structure  composed  of  four  posts  filled  in 

with    plastering,   the  whole    being  carried 

1 


n8  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

three  feet  above  the  top  landing  and  there 
finished  with  a  table  top.     The  stairs  are 
carried  round  this  in  short  flights.     A  some- 
what similar  arrangement  was  adopted  at 
Borde  Hill,  near  Cuckfield,  Sussex.      The 
solid  oak  staircase,  built  at  Godinton,  Kent, 
in   1627,  carries  out  the  same  idea.     It  is 
not  quite  square.      There  are  longish  and 
short     flights    with     the     interposition    of 
comforting  rest  landings.     Here  the  newels 
are    rudely    designed    termini,    carved    on 
square    posts,   with    decorated    bases,   and 
supporting   pedestals  well  overtopping  the 
handrail  on  which  are  heraldic  beasts,  the 
Tudor    Red    Dragon   and    Stewart    Silver 
Unicorn,      holding     shields.     The       three 
newels   on   the   top,    open   landing,   are   in 
the  form  of  dwarf  diminishing  pillars,   the 
towering      pedestals      supporting      female 
figures    in    the    attitude    of  prayer.      The 
balusters   are   turned    and    massive,    while 
the  handrail  is   carved   on   the   sides  with 
wavy  foliated  scrolls  and  adorned  with   a 
moulded  filet,  or  hand-rest  at  the  top.     A 
peculiarity  here  is  that  the  string  is  carried 
horizontally  from  the  top  step  of  each  flight 
to  the  lower  newel,  thus  forming  a  parapet 
wall  with  a  deeply  carved  frieze. 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN      1 19 

Further  steps  in  evolution  and  elaboration 
are  to  be  seen  at  Burton  Agnes.  We  have 
here  an  oblong  formed  by  four  pairs  of 
square  posts,  coupled  together  at  each 
stair  and  balustrade  level  by  arched  ties, 
the  stairs,  made  up  of  long,  rather  narrow 
but  very  low  steps,  and  many  landings, 
winding  round  these  continuous  newels. 
It  is  all  of  oak,  most  elaborately  and 
delicately  carved,  the  newels  being  decor- 
ated with  a  plaited  ornament  and  topped 
by  bell-shaped  terminals,  the  string  graved 
with  elegant  scrolls  and  further  embellished 
by  pendant  scrolled  fretwork.  The  balusters 
are  turned  and  the  handrail  deeply  undercut 
with  mouldings.  It  is  certainly  an  exceed- 
ingly handsome  piece  of  work,  with  pleasing 
restraint  in  decoration,  the  beauty  being 
greatly  enhanced  by  the  shortness  of  flights 
and  number  of  landings,  with  the  conse- 
quent frequent  change  in  level  of  the  string 
and  the  balustrade. 

As  a  rule  restraint  in  ornamentation  was 
not  a  strong  point  with  the  deft  and  patient 
craftsmen  of  the  Tudor  and  Jacobean 
periods.  Indeed,  decoration  was  decidedly 
florid.  In  the  early  years  quaintly  outlined, 
overcarved  diminishing  dwarf  pillars  were 


120  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

used  as  balusters,  sometimes  solid,  square 
or  rounded,  at  other  times  flat.  We  have 
seen  that  in  the  transition  stage  the  newels 
were  carried  from  base  to  top  of  a  staircase. 
Then  we  have  the  alternating  system, 
as  at  Burton  Agnes ;  then  the  newels  are 
cut  short,  but  carried  above  the  handrail, 
as  at  Godinton.  This  last  form  was  the 
most  prevalent,  and,  as  at  Godinton,  usually 
adorned  with  quaint  terminals.  In  an 
age  just  free  from  trammels  of  chivalry, 
the  heraldic  element  largely  prevailed  in 
this  special  department  of  ornamentation. 
But  we  must  leave  details  to  be  discussed 
in  a  later  chapter. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  while  in 
principle  the  broad,  State  staircase  was 
for  intercommunication  between  the  hall 
and  the  chief  apartments,  smaller  "  winders  " 
and  backstairs  being  reserved  for  general 
service,  in  practice  it  often  occurred  that 
the  main  stairway  was  carried  up  to  the 
attics,  uniting  all  parts  of  the  house. 
Bacon's  demand  for  a  M  fair  landing  place 
at  the  top "  corresponded  to  feeling  for 
freedom  of  movement  as  the  result  of 
emerging  from  the  restricted  area  of  the 
castle  and   fortified   house.     There   was  a 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN      121 

tendency  to  do  away  with  intercommuni- 
cating rooms,  and  to  substitute  corridors 
and  extensive  landings.  In  these  Tudor 
and  Jacobean  staircases  the  landings  were 
not  only  designed  as  resting  parts,  to  make 
ascending  easier,  but  as  a  means  of  access 
to  galleries  and  passages,  to  vestibules  or 
even  direct  into  rooms.  The  galleried 
landings  were  one  of  the  charms  of  these 
mansions  and  their  staircases.  Like  that 
delightful  oak  combination  from  Morlaix 
already  described,  it  is  frequently  difficult 
to  determine  where  the  stairway  ends  and 
the  landing  or  gallery  commences.  For  the 
stairways  were  often  a  series  of  landings, 
alternately  small  and  large,  the  latter 
diverging  to  right  and  left,  united  by  a  few 
steps ;  while  the  galleries  themselves  were 
often  stepped.  There  were  constant  changes 
of  level  disconcerting  enough  to  the  disciple 
of  Palladian  classicism  and  to  the  modern 
housewife,  with  a  love  for  much  heavy 
furniture  and  the  dread  of  frequent  removals, 
but  very  charming  in  its  note  of  unex- 
pectedness, which  adds  so  much  to  the 
sense  of  homeliness.  We  see  these  attached 
landings,  with  their  continuous  balustrade 
and     occasionally     even     arcading    in     all 


122  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

classes  of  houses ;  the  country  manor 
house,  the  town  mansions  or  dwellings  of 
busy  merchants,  and  in  the  great  rambling 
inns,  and  those  kindred  institutions,  the 
colleges.  Of  some  typical  examples  of  these 
it  will  be  necessary  to  speak. 

At  Slyfield,  Shalford,  a  staircase  of  wood 
was  provided  with  rusticated  newels,  the 
carving  representing  brickwork  or  masonry, 
while  the  balusters  were  of  cut-out  planks 
with  carved  surfaces. 

Crewe  Hall,  begun  about  1618  by  Sir 
Randolph  Crewe,  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's 
Bench,  whom  James  I.  dismissed  in  1626 
for  opposing  the  levy  of  ship  money,  until 
recently  contained  a  very  interesting, 
highly  ornate  staircase  of  this  open  galleried 
description.  It  filled  the  back  of  the  hall, 
a  short  flight  of  wide  steps,  with  low  risers 
leading  to  a  broad  landing,  with  passages 
leading  to  right  and  left,  and  then  another 
flight  to  a  gallery.  The  square  newels 
were  carried  high  above  the  handrail,  had 
peculiar  cup-like  terminals  supporting 
heraldic  beasts  holding  shields.  These 
newels  were  strongly  carved  with  geometric 
strapwork,  the  balusters  were  replaced  by 
pierced  tracery  panels,  of  a   rather  formal 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN      123 

but  effective  pattern,  the  strings  were 
series  of  deep  moulding  of  varied  forms, 
and  had  pendant  fret-carved  boards  in 
keeping  with  the  panels,  The  upper  newels 
were  also  pendant  to  the  level  of  the  first 
boards,  and  had  carved  drop  terminals. 
This  has  quite  the  style  of  the  Renaissance 
grand  staircase,  though  lacking  the  dignity 
of  attitude.  It  is  suggestive  of  domestic 
comfort  rather  than  ceremonial  parade. 

At  Burleigh  House  the  design  of  the 
main  staircase,  with  its  ascending  vaults, 
is  a  direct  suggestion  from  the  Italian 
though  modified  to  English  needs. 

Less  formal  in  design,  but  more  grandiose 

in  execution  is  the  magnificent  oak  staircase 

at   Hatfield  House,  constructed  soon  after 

1605.      It   opens   from    the   upper  end   of 

the  Great  Hall,  and  leads  up  by  five  flights 

and  five  landings  to   King  James's  Room. 

It  occupies  a  space  35  feet  by   20  feet  9 

inches,    and    has    very   low    risers.       The 

massive     square    newels    rise    above    the 

handrail,    have  reversed   pyramidal   carved 

tops,   supporting    corniced    pedestals    with 

draped   and    nude    figures   holding  various 

musical    instruments,     and    heraldic     lions 

(the  supporters  of  the  Cecils)  holding  shields. 


124  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

For   balusters  there  are   almost  flat  dwarf 
pillars  of  the  well-known  grotesque  Tudor 
diminishing   variety,    knit    together   at   the 
top    by    small    arches.       The    handrail    is 
heavily   moulded.      But   every   bit    of    the 
wood    is   deeply   and    boldly    carved.      On 
the    four    sides    of    the    newels    are    long 
panels  containing   Renaissance  arabesques. 
The  balusters   have  the  cartouches  placed 
high,    with    carved    faces     between    these 
and  the  capitals  ;  below  they  are  alternately 
decorated  with  panels  and  flutings  en  gaine, 
some  of  the  bases  have  curiously  horn-like 
curves.     The  arches  are   embellished  with 
an    open    leaf.     Between    each    pillar,    or 
baluster,    is    a    low    palmated    projection. 
These  abortive  balusters  are  characteristic 
of  these   two   blending   periods,   appearing 
in  a  great  diversity  of  forms.     It  appears 
probable    that    they   were    intended    as    a 
substitute     for     the     handrail     for     young 
children.      The   strings,    like   the   handrail, 
are  a  mass  of  mouldings,  and  below  these 
are  pendant  carved  scrolls.     Scrollwork  of 
the  same  pattern  frames  the  soffits,  which 
are     covered     with     open     strapwork    flat 
mouldings.     At  the  top  of  the  first  flight 
are  a  pair  of  heavily  carved  timber-framed 


'•»•»••      ' 


» »,    »  v»  •    > 


PALAIS    ROYAL,    PARIS. 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN      12$ 

wicket  gates,  adorned  with  fleur-de-lis. 
They  are  each  3ft.  9  ins.  high,  and  3ft. 
9  ins.  wide,  and  were  intended  to  keep 
dogs  away  from  the  State  rooms.  Gates 
such  as  these  on  the  lower  flights  for 
preventing  dogs  straying  up,  and  on  the 
topmost  landing  for  keeping  small  children 
from  falling  down,  were  common  in  large 
houses. 

At  Knowle,  Kent,  the  flights  are  easier 
even  than  the  very  mild  slope  prevailing 
at  Hatfield.  They  lead  up  to  a  gallery 
landing.  There  is  rather  less  ornamentation 
here  than  usual,  the  balusters  fairly  plain, 
but  the  commencing  newels  have  cushion 
heads  on  which  sit  heraldic  beasts.  The 
other  newels  are  carried  up  as  at  Burton 
Agnes,  only  in  this  instance  they  support 
arches. 

At  Blickling  Hall,  Norfolk,  there  is  a 
noble  oak  staircase  conducting  from  the 
entrance  hall  to  the  first  floor.  It  is 
thoroughly  typical  of  that  blend  of  domestic 
comfort  and  dignified  ceremonial  of  which 
we  gain  a  notion  on  reading  Bacon's  essay. 
Nearly  square  on  plan,  it  has  a  first  short 
flight  to  a  landing,  then  a  right  and  left  flight 
to  another  pair  of  half-way  landings,  with 


126  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

continuing  flights  parallel  to  the  first  and 
at  right  angles  to  the  others,  leading  to  an 
open  gallery  landing.  Each  step  is  6  feet 
long,  with  a  rise  of  6  inches.  The  newels, 
highly  decorated,  are  carried  far  above  the 
handrail,  and  support  knights  and  other 
symbolical  figures.  In  the  case  of  the 
upper  newels,  they  are  carried  both  above 
the  handrail  and  below  the  string,  being 
provided  with  terminal  pendants.  Balusters, 
string  and  other  parts  are  ornamental  in  out- 
line and  covered  with  freely  executed  carving. 

In  this  design  we  have  the  same  pre- 
occupation as  that  shown  by  the  stair 
builder  at  Crewe  Hall :  the  centralised 
short  flight  leading  to  a  reception  platform 
and  the  open  stairway  beyond.  At  Crewe, 
however,  the  general  treatment  is  reminiscent 
of  Gothic  planning,  while  at  Blickling  the 
inspiration  is  distinctly  that  of  the  Italian 
Renaissance,  derived  through  France,  rather 
than  from  Flanders,  which  usually  had 
the  more  immediate  influence  in  East 
Anglia. 

Cromwell  House,  Highgate,  which  the 
Protector  built  for  his  daughter  and  son- 
in-law,  General  Ireton,  possesses  a  fine 
Jacobean     staircase,     which     has     suffered 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN       127 

little  damage.  It  is  of  oak,  with  broad, 
wide,  low  steps,  a  few  winders  and  good 
landings.  The  handrail  is  massive  and 
broad,  and  the  balusters  replaced  by  carved 
panels  of  the  strapwork  pattern.  The 
handrail  is  carried  from  newel  to  newel  in 
stepped  fashion,  one  section  below  the 
other,  without  any  attempt  at  joining  up 
by  means  of  hipping.  These  newels  are 
carried  well  above  the  handrail,  are  solid, 
square  pillars,  carved  and  having  curiously 
shaped  terminals  supporting  finely  carved 
figures,  representing  Republican  soldiers 
of  that  period,  from  pipe  boy  to  captain. 
Two  of  the  original  figures  are  supposed 
to  be  missing,  and  tradition  says  they 
represented  Oliver  Cromwell  and  Ireton. 

An  oak  staircase  in  Kersal  College,  near 
Higher  Broughton,  Manchester,  is  adorned 
with  strongly  moulded  outer  string  and 
handrail.  The  heavy  square  newels  have 
panels  sunk  three-eighths  of  an  inch,  finished 
with  ogee  moulding  cornice  with  flat  top. 
The  balusters  are  square  top  and  bottom, 
the  centre  consisting  of  a  dual  open  spiral. 

Chilham  Castle,  quaintly  planned  on 
hexagonal  lines,  begun  in  161 5,  contains 
a  notable  grand  staircase.     Of  this  Mr  A. 


128  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

T.  Bolton  has  said  :  "  The  arcade  of  three 
arches  on  the  first  floor  is  of  a  pleasing 
proportion  for  internal  woodwork,  having 
slender  Doric  columns  on  very  tall  pedestals; 
surmounting  each  capital  is  a  caryatid 
figure  of  Jacobean  fantasy,  with  the  usual 
strapwork  ornamentation  filling  up  the 
spuandrils  of  the  arches.  The  enormous 
handrail  cut  out  of  oak  beams  no  less  than 
ten  feet  square  is,  however,  moulded  in  a 
very  crude  fashion  and  rakes  awkwardly 
into  the  columns  and  their  bases.  The 
balusters,  three  inches  square,  are  also 
elementary  in  their  turned  action.  At 
first  sight  it  looks  as  if  the  staircase  had 
been  altered,  as  the  upper  flights  to  the 
second  floor  are  curiously  supported  by  a 
tall  Doric  pillar  carried  up  from  one  of 
the  lower  newels,  but  this  is  found  elsewhere 
in  early  staircases."  It  is,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  one  of  examples  of  how  oddly  classic 
features  of  the  Renaissance  were  sometimes 
imposed  upon  native  design,  instead  of 
being  incorporated  therein. 

At  Manchester  itself,  Cheetham  Hospital 
contains  a  fine  oak  staircase,  newels  and 
balusters  being  of  the  diminishing  pedestal 
type,  with  pierced  carving. 


THE  TUDOR  AND  JACOBEAN      129 

At  Charlton  House,  near  Greenwich, 
Kent,  there  was  a  fine  and  typical  oak 
staircase,  of  quite  noble  proportions.  The 
strong  square  newels  were  decorated  with 
carved  strapwork.  The  solid  handrail  with 
bold  side  mouldings  topped  solid  balusters, 
in  the  form  of  heavily  carved  diminishing 
pedestals  with  a  rake  to  the  slope  of  the 
stairway.  At  the  union  of  the  newel  and 
handrail  were  placed  grotesquely  carved 
lions'  masks  with  open  mouths,  while  on 
the  landing  the  balusters  were  given  slightly 
developed  foliated  capitals,  of  the  acanthus 
genus. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  how  far  the  panelling 
and  other  work  of  these  Tudor  and  Jacobean 
staircases  were  painted.  In  many  examples 
there  is  distinct  evidence  of  at  least  a 
certain  amount  of  paint,  and  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  it  was  contemporary, 
at  least  as  far  as  the  earlier  period  is  con- 
cerned. The  Tudor  builders  had  retained 
much  of  the  Gothic  love  for  vivid  colouring, 
and  had  no  superstitious  reverence  for 
wood.  With  the  Jacobean  style,  however, 
wood  appears  often  to  have  been  left  bare. 
Ceilings  and  walls  were  very  generally 
painted,  sometimes  in  a  manner  appropriate 


130  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

to  the  newel  carvings,  our  ancestors  ap- 
parently desiring  lively  companions,  if  only 
in  effigy,  on  their  staircases.  In  a  description 
of  Hawsted  Place,  Norfolk,  we  are  told 
that  there  was  a  staircase  in  the  hall,  and 
"on  this  staircase,  against  the  wall,  stood 
some  painted  boards,  representing  domestic 
servants.  .  .  I  know  not,"  adds  the  reverend 
author  and  lord  of  the  Manor,  "  whether 
this  fancy  be  as  old  as  the  house,  the 
portrait  I  have  (a  very  pretty  well  painted 
female,  said  to  be  for  a  housekeeper)  is 
certainly,  from  the  dress,  not  more  than 
a  century  old,"  that  is  to  say,  about  1650. 
It  is  a  quaint  enough  conceit,  but  as  we 
have  seen,  not  peculiar  to  any  age  or 
country.  On  the  other  hand,  the  heraldic 
beasts  and  symbolical  figures,  carved  and 
placed  sentinelwise  on  pedestals,  is  distinctly 
characteristic  of  these  periods,  and  more 
particularly  of  the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and 
James. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   GEORGIAN   ERA 

One  particular  phase  of  the  classical  style 
introduced  by  Inigo  Jones,  developed  rather 
floridly  by  his  followers,  then  brought  back 
to  the  starting  point,  is  specially  worthy  of 
attention    here   as   having   given   us   many 
dignified   and    comfortable,    besides    a    few 
really  remarkable  staircases.     This  is  what 
is  known  in  England  as  the  Georgian,  and 
in  America  as  the  Colonial  style.     Nomin- 
ally it  covers  the  reigns  of  the  four  Georges, 
though  more  correctly  restricted  to  the  period 
between  about  1725  and  1800.    It  may  justly 
be  described  as  an  Anglicised  and  domesti- 
cated form  of  the  Palladian  architecture  as 
practised  in  Italy  towards  the  latter  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century  and  onwards.     At 
its  best  it  was  a  simplified  rendering  of  the 
neo-Latin  and  neo-Greek,  inspired  unques- 

131 


132  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

tionably  by  the  Italian  disciples  of  Palladio, 
but  shorn  very  considerably  of  that  wealth 
of  statuary,  carving  and  even  columns,  pil- 
asters and  pediments  which  they  loved  to 
mass  together  in  their  buildings. 

Jones  was  influenced  mainly  by  classical 
exemplars,  as  we  have  seen  from  his  work 
at  Ashburnham  House  and  elsewhere.  Wren, 
Ware,  Kent,  Gibbs  and  their  school  were 
more  indebted  to  the  Renaissance.  Side 
by  side  with  the  last  two  and  following 
them  another  school  grew  up,  taking  the 
classic  as  a  model  and  adapting  it  to  the 
domestic  needs  of  the  country  and  age.  It 
was  a  repetition  of  the  Tudor  amalgam  of 
Gothic  and  Renaissance,  only  without  its 
vigour.  Doors,  windows  and  cornices  were 
classic,  but  broad  flat  spaces  were  admitted, 
both  in  exteriors  and  interiors.  It  had  its 
charms  and  its  dangers  ;  it  was,  indeed, 
ultimately  to  drift  to  something  very  life- 
less and  degraded.  It  was  in  opposition 
to  this  tendency  to  reduce  everything  to 
the  rectangular  and  smooth  that  the  Adam 
brothers  went  back  to  Rome  and  Greece 
both  for  their  main  outlines  and  for  their 
decoration. 

In   the   hands  of  such    men    as    Paine, 


>1       t  t  It 


HAMPTON    COURT    PALACE. 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  133 

Chambers,  and  later  of  Soane,  however, 
this  Georgian  or  domesticated  Palladian 
made  homes  that  had  the  charm  of  dignity 
and  comfort.  It  had  a  beneficial  influence 
on  the  planning  of  what  we  may  call  the 
public  parts  of  a  house.  The  halls  or 
vestibules  were  generally  good ;  the  stair- 
cases broad  and  easy.  In  the  earlier  period 
that  love  of  wood  which  Jones  and  Wren 
had  inherited  from  the  Jacobeans  was  handed 
down.  London,  especially  about  the  Inns 
of  Court  and  some  untouched  eddies  off  the 
great  stream  of  life  in  the  Strand  and  Fleet 
Street,  still  preserves  a  goodly  number  of 
Georgian  oak  and  pine  staircases ;  broad, 
deep  steps  with  low  risers,  wainscoated, 
with  good  square  landings  at  frequent  in- 
tervals, square  newels  with  mitred  tops, 
heavy  handrail  and  rather  plain  balusters. 
More  of  these  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
suburbs  and  country,  although  as  a  rule 
these  are  of  stone  or  brick  and  stucco. 
Quite  a  characteristic  of  the  early  wood 
Georgian  balustrade  is  the  M  hipping  "  of  the 
handrail,  which  rises  at  the  intermediate 
newel,  either  at  right  angle  or  in  a  sweep- 
ing curve.  This  was  really  due  to  a  further 
step  in  the  dwarfing  of  the  newel.     Although 

K 


134  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

no  longer  carried  above  the  handrail,  at  the 
curves  or  intermediate  landings,  it  stood 
high,  the  balustrade  practically  being  in 
two  sections,  a  lower  and  an  upper  one, 
the  effective  hip  bridging  what  would 
otherwise  prove  an  interregnum.  Carving 
steadily  gave  way  before  turning. 

Akin  to  these  altogether  delightful  stair- 
cases of  wood  were  the  modest  constructions 
of  stone  and  brick,  covered  with  stucco. 
These  were  generally  planned  on  the  square, 
placed  parallel  to  the  walls  in  successive 
flights,  supported  on  plain  soffits  or  carried 
on  arches  with  columns  or  pilasters.  The 
iron  balusters  and  handrail  were  generally 
of  plain  wrought  iron  and  later  of  badly 
designed  cast  iron.  In  this  direction  too 
often  the  smoothing  process  of  stucco,  plain 
pilasters,  plainer  iron,  degenerated  into  that 
dead  characterlessness  which  overwhelmed 
the  early  Victorian  age.  There  are  many 
of  these  coldly  effaced  efforts  that  are  quite 
deplorable,  for  they  were  not  usually  re- 
lieved by  that  excellence  of  outline  that  we 
may  recognise  in  the  semi-circular  staircase 
at  Sheen  House,  or  in  the  old  staircase  at 
the  former  War  Office,  Pall  Mall,  now 
swept   away.      It   must   be   confessed   that 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  135 

Sir  John  Soane's  severe  simplicity  was  re- 
sponsible for  an  immense  amount  of  bad 
and  slurred  work,  for  his  faults  were  easier 
to  copy  than  his  grace  of  outline  and  good 
taste  in  restraint  of  detail. 

A  good  point  with  the  Georgian  archi- 
tects was  that  they  usually  lighted  their 
staircases  in  an  admirable  manner.  We  are 
not  referring  to  top  lighting  which  was  not 
specially  characteristic  of  the  period,  but  of 
the  large  windows,  generally  long  and  arched. 
These  were  almost  always  placed  well  above 
the  level  of  the  stairs  and  deeply  recessed. 
Many  of  them  are  most  decorative.  Accom- 
panying these  we  frequently  find  alcoves  for 
the  reception  of  statues  or  busts.  The 
openings  are  circular  or  square  with  pedi- 
ments over  them.  Another  form  of  de- 
coration are  the  plaques  and  medallions, 
bearing  busts  or  figures,  and  usually  sur- 
rounded by  garlands  and  ribbons. 

Let  us  now  consider  a  few  special 
examples. 

Lord  Chesterfield  in  describing  his  London 
house,  built  in  1750  by  Isaac  Ware,  says: 
"The  staircase  particularly  will  form  such 
a  scene  as  is  not  in  England."  It  was, 
as  Vertue  describes,   "all  of  marble,   each 


136  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

step  made  of  the  entire  block  and  20  feet 
in  length,"  but  had  not  been  designed  for 
Lord  Chesterfield.  In  fact  it  was  bought 
when  the  Duke  of  Chandos's  country  seat, 
Canons,  was  dismantled.  Even  the  wrought 
ironwork  merely  had  to  have  the  coronet 
over  the  C  changed  from  that  of  a  duke 
to  that  of  an  earl.  It  is  approached  from 
the  hall  through  a  screen  wall,  with  three 
arched  openings  adorned  with  Corinthian 
pilasters.  An  easy  short  flight  leads  to  a 
landing,  then  there  are  right  and  left  flights, 
slightly  elliptical  in  form,  with  winder  steps 
at  the  base,  which  reach  an  open  gallery 
landing,  cut  off  from  the  reception  room 
vestibule  by  another  stone  wall,  with  three 
arched  openings  and  pilasters  corresponding 
to  those  below.  The  balustrade  is  of  orna- 
mental wrought  iron.  There  is  a  consider- 
able amount  of  medium  relief  plaster  work 
on  the  panelled  ceiling,  and  the  stairs  are 
lighted  from  side  windows,  recessed  and 
rather  high  up. 

Where  now  stands  the  War  Office  in 
Whitehall  there  was  a  house  with  a  plain, 
uninviting  exterior,  but  a  miniature  palace 
within.  Gower  House,  or  Carrington  House, 
as   it   was   later   named,    was   built  by  Sir 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  137 

William  Chambers  for  Lord  Gower  in  1764- 
79.  The  staircase  was  approached  from  the 
spacious  hall  through  three  arches  with  tall, 
slender  columns.  To  the  left  was  a  straight, 
broad  flight  of  stone  steps  to  a  half  landing, 
then  a  right  and  left  flight,  laterally  to  the 
walls,  with  windows,  and  then  the  flights 
continued  at  right  angles  to  the  open  gallery 
landing  on  the  first  floor.  A  wrought  iron 
balustrade  had  fiddle-shaped  scrolls  filled 
with  floral  work,  placed  alternately  with  a 
couple  of  plain  square  bars.  The  handrail, 
of  moderate  size,  was  moulded,  was  hipped 
at  the  upper  landing,  and  had  an  elegant 
curve  to  a  stone  balustrade,  with  dwarf 
column  balusters,  which  overlooked  the 
staircase.  A  handsome  plaster  moulded 
band  ran  round  the  cage  at  the  level  of 
the  first  floor,  and  above  these,  nearly  in 
the  angles  facing  the  top  landing,  were  two 
square  alcoves,  framed  with  heavy  mould- 
ings and  pediments.  These  sheltered  sculp- 
tured figures.  Between  these,  and  on  the 
side  walls,  were  oblong  panels  decorated 
with  wreaths  and  cornices,  crowned  by 
mythological  beasts.  Slight  swags  and 
heavy  floral  pendants  completed  these  em- 
bellishments.    At  the  level  of  the  second 


138  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

floor  was  a  cornice  supported  by  billets,  and 
an  open  balustraded  stone  gallery  running 
round  three  sides  of  the  cage,  that  over  the 
State  apartments  being  supported  by  three 
arches,  two  handsome  columns  and  two 
pilasters,  with  massive  capitals  and  cornices. 
The  ceiling  was  enriched  with  plaster 
mouldings,  and  had  a  central  lantern.  It  is 
a  pity  that  so  good  an  example  of  Georgian 
work,  one  unusually  rich  for  so  cold  an 
artist  as  Chambers,  should  have  disappeared 
from  London. 

A  work  of  rather  less  ambition  and  of  a 
little  later  date,  is  still  to  be  seen  at  Trinity 
House,  Tower  Hill.  This  is  a  building  of 
the  modified  Ionic  order,  erected  in  1793-5, 
from  designs  by  Samuel  Wyatt,  a  member 
of  the  remarkable  family  of  Staffordshire 
architects,  which,  beginning  with  Benjamin, 
timber  merchant  and  builder,  included  such 
well-known  names  as  James  Wyatt  (1748- 
1813),  builder  of  Fonthill  Abbey  ;  Benjamin 
Dean  Wyatt  (1775- 1850),  Sir  Jeffrey  Wyat- 
ville  (1766- 1 840),  who  did  so  much  at 
Windsor  Castle;  Thomas  Henry  Wyatt 
(1807- 1 880),  the  Gothic  revivalist,  and  Sir 
Matthew  Digby  Wyatt  (1820-1877).  Samuel 
was  a  sound,  though  not  an  inspired  worker, 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  139 

but  he  had  some  originality,  as  the  imme- 
diate object  of  our  interest  will  show.  On 
passing  into  the  large  hall  one  is  confronted 
by  a  broad,  flattened  arched  doorway, 
framed  by  rather  heavy  double  mouldings. 
Actually  in  this  doorway  are  two  massive 
Ionic  columns  supporting  an  entablature 
under  the  arched  opening.  Beyond  this 
decidedly  quaint  entrance  appears  the  square 
staircase  vestibule  or  cage.  Facing  the 
doorway  is  a  flight  of  ten  broad  steps, 
spreading  outwardly  in  graceful  curves  at 
the  base,  narrowing  as  it  approaches  the 
landing  against  the  wall.  Right  and  left 
from  this  landing  are  flights  leading  to  the 
gallery  on  the  first  floor.  A  quite  plain 
balustrade  of  the  typical  wrought  iron 
pattern  is  sealed  to  the  stone  steps,  har- 
monising well  with  the  panelled  walls. 
Taken  as  a  whole  it  is  quite  effective,  and 
has  that  stamp  of  quiet  dignity  and  comfort 
which  are  associated  with  the  class. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  Robert 
and  James  Adam,  whose  father,  William 
Adam,  had  left  some  remarkable  staircases 
in  his  Corinthian  Hopetoun  House,  Lin- 
lithgow, and  more  particularly  his  bastard 
Gothic  Douglas  Castle,  Lanark,     Many  of 


140  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

the  brothers'  staircases  are  still  in  existence 
in  London,  the  English  counties,  and  in 
Scotland,  notably  in  Edinburgh.  As  a  rule 
they  are  of  stone,  though  those  of  brick 
covered  with  stucco  are  also  fairly  common, 
and  are  provided  with  more  or  less  orna- 
mental iron  balustrades,  the  latter  a  com- 
bination which  always  suggests  to  us  what 
the  French  sarcastically  term  du  luxe 
economique.  With  the  Adam  brothers  the 
favourite  plan  was  to  place  the  staircase  in 
a  square  well,  the  flights  winding  round  the 
walls,  provided  with  good  square  angle 
landings,  and  occasionally  with  open  top 
landings.  Walls  were  adorned  with  dados 
and  friezes,  the  latter  usually  carried  out 
in  low  relief  in  their  patent  stucco  com- 
position. Frequently  the  cages  were  lighted 
by  lantern  roofs.  These  architects  were  so 
far  true  to  the  classic  ideal  that  they  did 
not  obtrude  the  staircases,  placing  them  at 
the  back  of  the  hall,  or  more  generally  in 
side  vestibules.  This,  besides  facilitating 
planning,  had  the  decided  advantage  of 
conducing  to  the  warmth  of  their  houses  by 
lessening  the  chance  of  any  up  draught. 

Of  the   more   ambitious   work   of    these 
architects  we  may  mention  the  grand  stair- 


^^^^^^^^^^^/. 


— r^rri 

— — : — i     i 


'  si 


\ . 


PALAZZO    BRASCHI,    ROME. 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  141 

cases  at  Sion  House  and  at  Luton  Park. 
It  was  in  1762  that  the  Duke  of  North- 
umberland commissioned  the  brothers  to 
remould  his  mansion  at  Isle  worth,  which 
they  did  in  a  quite  drastic  fashion.  The 
innovation  included  a  circular  saloon  ap- 
proached by  a  series  of  steps  from  the  hall. 
This  saloon  was  a  circle  within  a  circle,  the 
inner  opening  into  the  larger  by  eight 
arches  with  columns.  Through  the  middle 
archway  on  the  left  is  seen  the  staircase 
vestibule,  measuring  29  feet  by  20  feet  6 
in.  The  staircase  is  of  the  dual  type,  with 
two  straight  flights  to  a  midway  landing  and 
two  return  flights  to  the  first  floor  landing. 
On  each  side  of  the  entrance  hall  are  two 
fine  ante-chambers,  each  with  an  adjoining 
square  turret  containing  a  square  winding 
staircase.  There  are  four  other  service 
staircases  in  the  house. 

At  Luton  Park,  Bedfordshire,  built  for 
the  Marquis  of  Bute  in  1767,  the  grand 
staircase  is  placed  in  a  vestibule  out  of  a 
corridor  well  away  from  the  entrance  hall. 
It  is  cut  off  from  the  corridor  by  a  classic 
screen  and  a  couple  of  columns.  The  stairs, 
formed  of  broad  steps,  are  composed  of  easy 
flights  winding  round  the  three  walls  of  the 


142  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

cage,  with  angle  landings  to  the  first  floor. 
The  decoration  is  of  the  characteristic 
nerveless  rendering  of  Greek  designs.  In 
London  staircases  of  very  much  the  same 
pattern  were  built  for  Lord  Derby  in  his 
Grosvenor  Square  mansion,  and  for  Sir 
Watkin  Williams  Wynn  in  St  James's 
Square.  Other  good  examples  are  to  be 
seen  in  that  Adam  happy  hunting  ground, 
the  Adelphi ;  and  notably  in  the  house  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  Arts,  John  Street, 
where  there  are  two,  the  larger  public  stairs 
on  the  left  of  the  entrance  lobby,  and  the 
other  in  a  recess  at  the  back  of  the  hall  in 
the  Secretary's  lodgings. 

Henry  Holland  was  among  the  most 
fashionable  of  the  late  Georgian  architects. 
We  have  a  specimen  of  his  work  in  the 
grand  staircase  in  Dover  House,  one 
of  the  remaining  landmarks  of  that  period 
in  Whitehall,  conspicuous  for  its  semi- 
circular portico  and  its  round-domed 
entrance  hall.  Originally  the  house,  built 
by  James  Paine  for  Sir  Matthew  Feather- 
stonhaugh,  had  a  plainer  exterior.  But  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Lord  Melbourne 
who  sold  it  to  the  Duke  of  York.  It  was 
under     Lord     Melbourne,     in     1787,     that 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  143 

Holland  added  the  staircase,  portico  and 
other  classical  features.  Holland's  most 
celebrated  achievement  was  the  re- 
modelling of  the  vanished  Carlton  House, 
Pall  Mall,  for  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales. 
It  contained  a  rather  pretentious,  but 
scarcely  beautiful  grand  staircase.  A  short 
straight  flight  was  approached  from  the 
hall  between  two  Corinthian  columns, 
supporting  a  square  entablature,  then  it 
branched  out  in  circular  form  right  and  left 
to  a  landing,  whence  there  was  another 
short  flight,  and  again  the  spreading  out 
into  a  circle  with  right  and  left  flights. 
This  was  constructed  of  Portland  cement, 
decorated  with  coloured  stucco  mouldings 
and  medallions,  and  provided  with  heavy 
wrought  iron  balustrade,  painted  and  gilded. 
A  coloured  picture  of  it  appeared  in  Pyne's 
"  Royal  Residences,"  and  this  clearly  shows 
the  inherent  weakness  of  this  style  from 
the  monumental  point  of  view. 

Probably  nowhere  can  the  Georgian  stair- 
case be  studied  to  better  advantage  than  in 
Dublin.  The  political  and  social  history  of 
the  Irish  capital  accounts  for  the  compar- 
atively large  number  of  fine  18th  century 
houses  still  remaining,  though  many  of  them 


144  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

in  a  sadly  decayed  state.  It  speaks  eloquent- 
ly of  a  sudden  arrest,  almost  a  paralysis,  of 
social  life  when  at  its  brightest.  What 
remains  provides  abundant  evidence  of  the 
artistic  tastes  of  that  vanished  brilliant 
society. 

At  No.  41  St  Stephen's  Green  much 
seems  to  have  been  sacrificed  in  order  to 
obtain  a  good  staircase.  The  reception 
rooms  on  the  first  floor  are  rather  cramped, 
but  the  stairs  and  landing  are  spacious  and 
imposing.  It  leads  from  the  hall  to  an  open 
gallery  landing,  the  walls  panelled,  the 
heavy  handrail,  with  its  substantial  balusters 
on  square  bases  and  with  square  capitals, 
has  a  graceful  curve.  Deep  carving  adorns 
the  string  and  the  panel  below  the  landing 
gallery  is  covered  with  boldly  cut  foliated 
scrolls  framing,  as  it  were,  a  pair  of 
phoenixes  placed  in  the  middle.  A  staircase 
of  a  similar  character  is  at  No.  20  Lower 
Dominick  Street,  used  as  a  parish  school. 
It  was  built  in  1755  by  Robert  West,  a 
stucco  plasterer,  who  has  left  evidence  of 
his  skill  in  the  high  relief  stucco  decorations 
on  the  walls  and  carved  ceiling.  Though 
clearly  inspired  by  the  Rococo  style,  it  is 
light  and  elegant.     The  staircase  is  of  wood, 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  145 

heavily  carved,   the   balustrade   carried   up 
without  intermediate  newels. 

At  Powerscourt  House,  William  Street, 
built  by  Robert  Mack  in  1771,  we  have 
also  a  sweeping  flight  from  the  hall  to  the 
first  floor  gallery  landing.  This  staircase  is 
of  carved  mahogany.  It  has  no  real  newel, 
but  a  cluster  of  balusters  topped  by  a 
circular  curve  of  the  handrail.  The 
balusters  are  formed  of  two  equal  sized 
swelling  foliated  bulbs,  with  square  bases 
and  tops,  rather  massive  and  given  an 
upward  rake  to  correspond  with  the  slope  of 
the  stairway.  That  curious  hipping  of  the 
handrail  marking  the  period  of  transition  is 
seen  at  the  curving  of  the  handrail. 

But  probably  the  most  remarkable  of  the 
whole  series  is  at  No.  8  Ely  Place,  built  in 
1770  for  Viscount  Loftus  of  Ely.  It  is  thus 
described  in  the  transactions  of  the  Georgian 
Society  of  Dublin  :  M  This  staircase,  quite 
different  from  any  other  in  Dublin,  is  in 
three  flights  and  is  lit  by  a  large  Venetian 
window.  The  steps  are  of  stone,  the 
balustrade  decorated  with  figures  of  animals 
emblematic  of  the  Labours  of  Hercules. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  staircase,  forming  a 
termination  to  the  balustrade,  stands  a  life- 


146  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

sized  figure  of  Hercules  himself,  carved  in 
Portland  stone.  The  Labours  are  repre- 
sented by  a  series  of  five  panels  in  the 
following  order :  the  Erymanthian  Boar, 
the  Nemean  Lion,  the  Cretan  Bull,  the 
Arcadian  Stag,  and  Cerberus.  These 
figures  are  of  wood  gilt.  Between  them 
are  finely  designed  panels,  each  with  three 
small  medallions  of  lead  beneath  the  carved 
mahogany  handrail ;  the  balusters  are  of 
wrought-iron  with  ornaments  in  lead.  At 
the  turn  of  the  balustrade  on  each  landing 
are  carved  figures  of  eagles  with  out- 
stretched wings.  This  very  remarkable 
staircase  was  probably  designed  and  made 
abroad.  It  closely  resembles  the  staircase 
in  the  Musde  Moderne  at  Brussels,  an 
ancient  mansion  which  from  1731  was  the 
residence  of  the  Governors  of  the  Low 
Countries.  The  Brussels  staircase,  which 
was  restored  early  in  the  last  century  by  the 
architect  Balat,  is  adorned  with  the  twelve 
labours  of  Hercules,  the  figures  in  bronze. 
The  balustrade  is  otherwise  of  the  same 
design,  or  nearly  so,  as  that  in  Ely  Place 
and  is  likewise  terminated  by  a  statue  of 
Hercules."  To  complete  this  picture  it  may 
be  added  that  the  steps  are  wide  and  broad. 


THE  GEORGIAN  ERA  H7 

The  balusters  consist  of  half  hoops  of  metal, 
enclosing  conventionalised  cupped  vegeta- 
tion, terminating  in  substantial  vrils,  while 
the  leaden  medallions,  resting  on  a  wrought 
iron  band,  are  embossed  with  allegorical 
designs  in  keeping  with  the  general  scheme. 
The  well  of  the  staircase,  at  the  level  of  the 
landing,  is  decorated  with  a  broad  band  of 
plaster-work,  carried  as  a  panel  round  to 
the  base  of  the  gallery,  moulded  in  medium 
relief  with  classical  scrolls.  A  deep  carved 
cornice,  framed  by  corded  mouldings,  is 
decorated  with  scrolls,  palmettes  and  vases, 
and  beneath  this  are  festoons  of  leaves, 
with  drops,  medallions  and  busts,  all  in 
medium  relief  stucco.  Three  doors  on  the 
landing  are  framed  with  heavy  mouldings, 
the  middle  one  having  a  broken  pediment 
and  the  other  two  projecting  cornices. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   BALUSTRADE 

Ip^,  for  the  moment,  we  leave  aside  considera- 
tion of  monumental  work,  it  will  be  seen 
hat  the  impression  left  on  the  mind  by  a 
staircase  depends  largely  upon  the  character 
of  the  balustrade.  Of  course  the  trained 
eye  would  first  seek  to  unravel  the  secrets 
of  the  plan  and  take  in  the  general  outline, 
these  being  of  most  importance,  and  then 
note  the  various  dimensions  of  the  steps. 
But  to  the  majority  of  people  the  balustrade 
receives  immediate  attention  by  making  its 
direct  appeal  through  the  eye,  while  planning 
and  the  nature  of  the  steps  being  matters 
to  be  appreciated  chiefly  as  a  result  of 
experience  are  least  likely  to  be  consciously 
noted  when  the  sensations  are  pleasurable, 
or  at  least  when  the  steps  do  not  call  for 

undue  physical  exertion. 

148 


THE  BALUSTRADE  149 

Usually,  it  will  be  found,  good  planning 
and  artistic  expression  go  hand  in  hand. 
Thus  it  is  in  connection  with  primitive 
staircases  that  we  see  the  rudest  forms  of 
balustrading,  and  it  is  in  association  with 
decadent  designs  and  constructional  methods 
that  we  discover  the  positively  ugly 
banister.  Does  not  this  fact  carry  a 
warning  to  certain  extremist  seekers  after 
simplicity  ?  After  all,  this  deliberate 
running  after  simplicity  may  degenerate 
into  affectation,  and  that  is  always  bad  art, 
whether  it  takes  the  form  of  vulgar  ostenta- 
tion or  of  mock  humility.  However,  it  is 
no  part  of  our  present  task  to  discuss  the 
ethics  of  the  art  nouveau  or  aesthetics  of 
the  "  Mission  "  style,  so  we  will  pass  on 
to  a  brief  review  of  the  balustrade  and  all 
that  appertains  to  it. 

We  have  seen  that  even  in  a  luxurious 
house  of  Pompeii  the  principal  staircase, 
exposed  to  the  view  of  all  who  entered  the 
atrium,  was  provided  with  the  plainest  of 
balustrades  :  a  square  cut  handrail  and 
mere  slats  for  balusters.  An  improvement 
on  this  we  have  seen  introduced  effectively 
enough  in  the  present  day :  an  indoor 
cottage    staircase,    with     easy    steps,    half 

L 


150  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

landings  and  galleried  corridor  at  the 
stairhead,  being  provided  with  a  plain 
handrail,  nicely  moulded  for  the  ringers 
to  grasp,  and  for  balusters  alternate  broad 
and  thin  flat  slats.  This  garden  paling 
style  appears  to  have  lasted  through  the 
Middle  Ages,  judging  from  contemporary 
pictures  and  miniatures,  in  which  outside 
stairways  and  those  leading  from  great 
halls  to  the  privy  chambers  are  as  often 
shown  palisaded  as  protected  by  parapet 
walls.  Wood,  however,  was  by  no  means 
the  only  material  employed,  as  rough 
wrought  iron  handrails  and  bars  were 
fairly  common,  and  were  early  developed 
along  picturesque  lines,  as  we  shall  see. 

For  spiral  stairways  the  balustrade  came 
late.  In  the  spirals  of  the  Romanesque 
and  Gothic  periods  there  was  either  a  heliacal 
projection  on  the  central  newel,  more  or 
less  gracefully  turned  for  the  hand  to  rest 
upon,  as  in  the  castles  of  the  Comtes  de 
Dunois  and  at  Royal  Blois  ;  or  we  have 
the  projecting  stone  filet  contained  in  a 
sunken  groove  on  the  circumference  of 
the  tower,  as  at  Tattershall  and  at 
Greenwich.  With  the  Renaissance  it  is 
seen   that   these   handrails   are    treated   as 


>  '   '    ,      »• 


»•«•»• o    > 


* :«»  : » 


FLEMISH    NEWELS. 


THE  BALUSTRADE  151 

decorative  assets,  of  which  the  artist-crafts- 
man felt  it  incumbent  to  make  the  most, 
while  having  due  regard  to  their  use  and 
the  proportions  they  should  bear  to  the 
other  parts.  The  balustrade  proper  was 
generally  used  to  protect  the  exposed 
portions  of  the  stairway,  such  as  at  the 
landings  and  the  windows. 

In  Gothic  architecture,  for  stairs  other 
than  spirals  we  find  mostly  solid  parapet 
walls  with  copings  occasionally  stepped,  as 
at  the  Bargello  of  Florence,  or  otherwise 
made  up  of  exquisitely  pierced  panels,  full 
of  geometrical  or  floral  tracery,  as  on  the 
library  staircase  of  Rouen  Cathedral.  It 
is  well  to  note  in  passing  that  the  solid 
parapet  for  outside  stairways  is  still  common 
in  Italy  and  the  Flemish  countries,  where 
it  is  in  use  to  the  present  day.  Of  this 
modified  panel  form  not  only  did  Gothic 
builders  make  good  use,  but  so  also  did 
their  legitimate  descendants,  the  constructors 
of  Tudor  and  Jacobean  houses,  while  fine 
examples  are  also  to  be  seen  in  Renaissance 
buildings,  though  these  latter  are  practically 
confined  to  wrought  iron  work,  which  is 
closer  akin  to  wood  carving  than  stone 
cutting. 


152  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

We  still  possess  many  examples  of  these 
Tudor  and  Jacobean  panels,  carved  in  wood. 
At  Dunster  Castle,  Somerset,  these  panels 
are  very  full  with  boldly  curved  scrolls 
carved  in  high  relief,  and  quite  natural- 
istic in  form.  In  a  house  at  Guildford, 
No.  25  High  Street,  there  are  similar 
panels  with  splendidly  carved  scrolls,  but 
somewhat  more  conventional  in  treatment 
than  those  at  Dunster.  The  newels,  solid 
square  posts,  carried  above  the  handrail, 
are  plain  but  terminated  by  large  vases. 
At  Eltham  House,  Kent,  built  in  1658, 
and  now  used  as  a  clubhouse,  there  is  a 
splendid  Jacobean  carved  staircase,  that 
has  suffered  outrage  at  the  hands  of 
innovators,  who  have  removed  the  old 
carved  vases  on  newels  to  replace  them 
with  square  lanterns  placed  on  tall  standards. 
The  space  between  the  handrail  and  the 
string  is  filled  with  carved  scrollwork, 
of  the  Vitruvian  type,  terminating  with 
a  rose  centre.  In  the  middle  panel  of 
the  top  gallery  figures  of  amorini  are 
introduced.  It  is  possible  that  this  form 
of  decoration  was  introduced  into  England 
by  Flemish  carvers.  Certainly  the  Flemish 
work    of    this    description     shows    greater 


THE  BALUSTRADE  153 

variety  and  finer  finish  than  it  does  with 
us.  For  instance  in  the  Brewers*  Hall, 
Antwerp,  the  staircase  balustrade  panels 
are  beautifully  carved  with  scrolls  quite  in 
the  style  of  Renaissance  arabesque,  nude 
boys,  cherubs'  heads  with  wings,  birds  and 
four-footed  animals  being  introduced  in  the 
intricate  windings  of  the  freely  treated 
foliage.  At  Thorpe  Hall  the  scrollwork 
is  more  open,  less  boldly  carved.  At 
Cromwell  House,  Highgate,  and  in  the 
much  later  carved  wood  staircase  at  Clare 
Hall,  Cambridge,  the  panels  are  closely 
filled  with  well  designed,  strongly  carved 
strapwork. 

As  far  as  England  is  concerned  serious 
attention  began  to  be  paid  to  balustrading 
at  the  dawn  of  the  Tudor  period,  when  our 
incomparable  joiners  and  clever  carvers  had 
a  new  opportunity  of  displaying  their  skill. 
Under  Henry  VIII  and  Elizabeth,  when 
State  staircases  had  come  into  general 
vogue,  the  art  reached  a  high  degree  of 
development,  marked  by  great  boldness  and 
originality.  The  staircases  were  planned 
with  many  landings,  and  also  with  many 
accessory  galleries,  each  with  their  con- 
necting flights  of  steps.     They  were  mostly 


154  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

built  of  wood,  oak  being  the  chief  favourite, 
and  were  heavily  carved,  at  first  with 
characteristic  geometrical  flat  strapwork, 
later  associated  with  or  supplanted  by 
conventional  foliated  scrolls,  with  the  gradua 
introduction  of  flowers.  The  newels,  even 
in  square  planned  staircases,  were  un- 
mistakably derived  from  the  spiral  central 
columns,  being  carried  up  as  supporting 
posts  to  the  upper  floors,  as  we  see  at 
Burton  Agnes,  the  tall  diminishing  pillars 
at  Great  Wigswell,  Sussex,  and  in  so  many 
other  instances.  When  this  was  found  to 
be  no  longer  structurally  useful,  the  posts 
were  cut  short,  but  still  carried  high  above 
the  handrail,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
give  these  some  decorative  finish.  In  early 
examples  we  find  the  tops  of  the  newels 
carved  into  quaint  forms  of  pillars  and 
pedestals,  often  supporting  still  more  odd 
looking  busts.  These  were  succeeded  by 
full  figures  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gothic 
carvers,  grotesque  human  beings,  monsters 
strayed  from  mediaeval  "  Bestiaries,"  or 
more  commonly  from  the  Arcanum  of 
heraldry. 

With  Jacobean  work  the  influence  of  the 
Renaissance  is  more  plainly  seen.      Cheek 


THE  BALUSTRADE  155 

by  jowl  with  heraldic  supporters  we  find 
classic  figures,  amorini,  musicians,  and  so 
on.  Then  under  the  harsher  social  con- 
ditions of  the  Commonwealth,  we  find  the 
military  spirit  arising,  with  the  knightly 
figures  at  Blickling  Hall,  the  republican 
military  types  in  General  Ireton's  dwelling, 
Cromwell  House,  Highgate.  In  both  Tudor 
and  Jacobean  work  newels  at  intermediate 
stages  and  landings,  when  not  of  the  con- 
tinued type,  were  not  only  carried  above 
the  balustrade,  but  below  the  string,  and 
terminated  with  well  carved  drops. 

Dutch  influence  on  both  the  outline  of 
newels  and  their  decorative  carving  is  very 
noticeable  in  the  later  Jacobean  period,  as 
will  be  seen  on  comparing  native  examples 
with  the  half-dozen  18th  century  Flemish 
newels  reproduced  in  this  volume. 

Already  Inigo  Jones  had  brought  in  con- 
siderable modifications,  still  further  shorten- 
ing the  newel,  giving  the  commencing 
post  a  square,  monumental  form,  with 
panelled  sides  and  corniced  tops.  The 
period  of  transition  is  also  marked  by  the 
substitution  of  vases,  either  of  the  closed 
urn  type  or  of  the  open  cup  pattern  filled 
with  flowers  and  fruit.  These  vases  gradually 


i$6  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

diminished  in  size,  and  are  eventually  re- 
placed by  knobs  and  balls.  Under  Wren's 
influence  the  newel  becomes  more  monu- 
mentally architectural,  embellished  not  only 
with  carved  panels,  but  freely  treated 
festoons  of  flowers  and  fruit,  sometimes 
developing  into  the  over-bundance  of  Grin- 
ling  Gibbon.  An  early  specimen  of  this 
form  of  treatment  was  to  be  seen  in 
Chancery  Lane  until  the  middle  of  last 
century,  when  part  of  old  Southampton 
House  was  still  standing.  There  was  a 
very  steep  staircase  (reproduced  in  Archer's 
"Vestiges  of  Old  London,"  1851).  The 
starting  post  was  in  the  form  of  a  triangular 
pedestal,  with  well  marked  cornice  and 
coping,  the  sides  having  carved  sunk  panels. 
By  way  of  balustrade  there  was  a  broad 
band  of  pierced  running  scroll. 

An  awkward  legacy  of  the  old  continued 
pillar  newel  was  the  designing  of  balustrad- 
ing  in  separate  panels  for  each  flight  and 
landing,  and  joining  these  up  at  the  newels 
at  different  levels.  To  overcome  an  ar- 
rangement which  was  frequently  ugly  and 
often  inconvenient,  the  practice  of  "  hipping  " 
was  introduced,  the  handrail  from  the  lower 
level  being  carried  up  in  a  curve,  as  we  see 


.       »  » , 


FLEMISH    NEWELS. 


THE  BALUSTRADE  157 

in  the  charming  18th  century  example  from 
Hatton  Garden,  while  another  interesting 
example  is  to  be  seen  in  a  City  house, 
possibly  by  Wren,  numbered  1  Laurence 
Pountney  Hill.  This  hipping  was  specially 
characteristic  of  early  Georgian  work. 

A  curious  treatment  that  came  in  with 
Inigo  Jones,  but  was  carried  to  extremes  by 
Ware,  Kent,  and  Gibbs,  was  the  reinforcing 
of  the  commencing  newel  with  some  form 
of  buttress,  usually  a  reversed  console,  some- 
times formed  of  plain  volutes,  at  other  times 
of  finely  foliated  scrolls. 

In  the  majority  of  instances  the  spaces 
between  every  two  newels  were  rilled  with 
balusters,  ranging  from  the  uncouth  paling 
to  the  most  elaborate  of  carved  or  turned 
bars  and  pillars.  During  the  Tudor  period 
the  early  balusters  were  either  carved  bars 
or  more  commonly  dwarf  pillars.  They 
were  both  flat  and  square  in  section,  often 
elaborately  decorated  with  geometrical  strap- 
work,  scrolls,  floral  festoons,  and  masks. 
With  the  solid  work  of  the  Elizabethan 
period  the  pillars  are  usually  surface  deco- 
rated, but  also  sometimes  pierced.  A 
favourite  form  in  early  Jacobean  stair-railing 
was  to  cut  the  balusters  out  of  planks,  these 


158  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

being  left  flat  and  solid,  though  decorated 
with  surface  carvings  ;  at  other  times  they 
were  freely  pierced,  so  that  they  became 
almost  skeletonised.  This  frequently  merges 
into  the  pierced  plank  panelling,  placed 
horizontally  or  vertically.  It  was  about  this 
time,  too,  that  short  abortive  balusters  or 
projections  were  introduced  between  the  rods 
or  pillars,  probably  for  decorative  purposes 
merely,  though  Richardson  suggested  that 
they  should  be  reintroduced  for  the  benefit 
of  small  children  climbing  upstairs. 

Very  fine  specimens  of  turned  balusters 
are  seen  as  early  as  Elizabeth's  reign. 
Forms  met  with  are  the  double  oveline, 
two  opposed  long  bulbs  with  a  central  ring 
or  ball,  three  bulbs  separated  by  rings,  or 
the  slender  pillar  with  ornamental  bases  and 
tops.  Later  we  have  the  spiral,  or  twisted 
form,  elaborated  sometimes  into  two  or 
three  spirals,  pierced,  each  being  independ- 
ent, though  springing  from  a  common  base 
and  cap.  The  gauge  of  the  thread  varies 
considerably.  There  was  a  constant  mixing 
of  different  patterns ;  for  instance,  we  find 
close  spiral,  open  spiral  and  fluted  balusters 
placed  alternately,  which  has  quite  a  pleas- 
ing effect. 


THE  BALUSTRADE  1 59 

Under  the  influence  of  the  late  Renais- 
sance we  find  balusters  with  turned  bodies 
decorated  with  carved  ends  ;  thus  a  rounded 
or  a  scrolled  shaft  may  have  leaf  cup  bases 
and  caps.  For  instance,  in  a  house  of  the 
late  Renaissance  style  in  the  Close  at  Salis- 
bury, the  newels  have  round  plain  bases, 
fluted  bulbous  shafts,  foliated  at  the  base 
and  elaborately  carved  with  small  leaves  at 
the  top.  The  balusters  have  foliated  bulbs 
out  of  which  spring  spiral  shafts  with  carved 
capitals,  the  abacus  being  round  and  plain. 
The  handrail  is  nicely  rounded  on  the  top, 
and  the  sides  carved  with  strongly  designed 
leaves. 

There  may  be  one  baluster  to  each  step, 
or  two  or  three  to  each  ;  and  these  may 
be  fastened  to  the  step  itself  or  to  a  bar 
corresponding  to  the  handrail.  A  late  in- 
novation is  to  bring  the  nosing  on  the  side 
of  the  step  over  the  string,  and  to  cut  through 
this  nosing  a  notch  in  which  the  baluster, 
furnished  with  a  terminal  drop,  is  fitted. 
This  method  is  probably  an  adaptation  from 
one  way  of  fastening  iron  rails  to  stone 
steps,  the  rails  being  brought  outside  the 
string  and  fastened  thereto  by  means  of  a 
ringed  bar  projecting  from  the  string.     But 


160  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

the  system  is  a  bad  one  for  domestic  work. 
It  is  not  pretty,  makes  cleaning  difficult, 
while  the  balusters  are  more  apt  to  be 
knocked  out  of  their  position. 

Stone  staircases  are  usually  provided  with 
stone  or  marble  balustrades,  although  the 
combination  of  stone  steps  with  wood  balus- 
trades is,  of  course,  met  with,  while  the 
combination  of  marble  steps  and  metal 
balustrading  is  still  more  common.  Both 
stone  and  marble  balusters  are  generally  in 
the  form  of  dwarf  pillars,  which  may  be 
given  very  varied  forms,  plain  cut  or  with 
more  or  less  elaborate  surface  carving. 

A  point  which  may  be  discussed  here, 
although  it  applies  equally  to  carved  wood, 
is  the  advisability  of  giving  the  balusters 
an  upward  rake  corresponding  to  the  slope 
of  the  stairs.  With  some  of  the  Elizabethan 
builders,  but  more  especially  with  the  Jaco- 
beans  and  the  followers  of  the  later  Re- 
naissance developments,  it  was  a  favourite 
practice  to  carve  the  dwarf  pillars,  and 
even  give  the  decorations  on  bar  balusters 
an  upward  rake,  with  the  idea  of  repeating 
the  sloping  lines.  While  in  theory  this 
sounds  very  well,  in  practice  it  is  rarely 
successful.    Certainly  the  Versailles  example 


THE  BALUSTRADE  161 

is  not  encouraging,  and  we  agree  with  Sir 
William  Chambers  when  he  says  that  the 
balusters  should  not  be  made  to  follow  the 
plane  of  inclination,  but  ought  to  be  kept 
vertical,  the  abacus  and  plinth,  or  base  and 
cap,  being  made  in  shape  of  wedges  to 
adjust  matters. 

Tudor  and  Jacobean  handrails  are  re- 
markable for  their  substantial  proportions, 
being  deep  and  broad.  They  are  some- 
times triangular  in  form  on  their  upper 
side,  having  a  rounded  central  ridge,  the 
real  main  courante,  and  projecting  ledges 
on  either  side.  As  a  rule,  however,  they 
are  nearly  flat,  with  a  slight  central  upward 
roll.  The  sides  are  often  embellished  with 
flat  or  high  relief  carvings.  With  the  in- 
troduction of  neo-classical  style  the  sides 
of  the  handrails  were  diminished  and  made 
either  circular  or  semi-circular,  frequently 
grooved  writh  longitudinal  mouldings. 

At  Charlton  House,  near  Greenwich,  we 
have  a  typical  16th  century  wood  staircase. 
The  newels  are  massive,  square  cut  and 
decorated  with  high  relief  strapwork.  A 
solid  handrail  with  bold  mouldings  is  sup- 
ported by  carved  balusters  in  the  form  of 
dwarf  diminishing  pillars,  having  an  upward 


162  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

rake.  At  the  union  of  the  handrail  and 
the  newels  we  find  grotesquely  carved 
lions'  masks  with  open  mouths,  correspond- 
ing to  the  grotesques  we  have  seen  in  the 
Morlaix  specimen.  It  is  curious  to  see  at 
Charlton  House  that  the  balusters  on  the 
landings  take  on  a  more  decorative  form, 
having  slightly  developed  acanthus  capitals. 

In  the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum  there 
is  a  portion  of  a  pinewood  balustrade,  with 
turned  balusters,  coming  from  Castelnau 
House,  Mortlake,  built  about  1680.  It  is 
very  chaste.  The  newel  is  a  small  Cor- 
inthian fluted  column,  the  handrail  well 
turned,  but  plain,  and  there  are  three 
balusters  to  each  step,  the  spirals  on  the 
shafts  being  of  diminishing  lengths,  as  they 
start  horizontally  with  the  steps  but  rise 
to  the  plane  of  the  slope.  This  was  a 
favourite  compromise  between  the  severely 
vertical  treatment  and  the  unsatisfactory 
rake.  In  this  case  each  step  is  supported 
by  a  neat  scrolled  bracket.  The  walls  are 
panelled  in  pine,  a  fluted  pilaster  being 
placed  on  a  level  with  the  newel. 

The  string  is  found  susceptible  of  con- 
siderable modifications.  Usually  it  is  a 
straight,    broad   band    following   the   plane 


THE  BALUSTRADE  163 

of  the  stairs,  and  placed  immediately  below 
them.  These  bands  are  frequently  highly 
ornamented  with  carvings,  sometimes  they 
are  carried  below  the  soffits,  the  hanging 
portion  usually  being  carved  with  pierced 
fretwork.  At  other  times  they  are  carried 
above  the  steps,  forming  a  kind  of  parapet, 
often  carrying  the  balusters,  and  sometimes 
treated  in  the  quaint  way  we  see  at  God- 
ington.  When  the  steps  are  apparent  above 
the  string  they  are  generally  finished  with 
nosings,  and  a  very  ornamental  appearance 
may  be  given  to  them  by  supporting  them 
with  consoles,  either  mere  volutes  or  deli- 
cately carved  foliated  scrolls.  Specimens  of 
this  treatment  are  seen  in  the  illustration 
of  the  Hatton  Garden  staircase. 

Stone  carved  panels,  much  resembling 
those  already  described  when  dealing  with 
woodwork,  are  also  common.  As  we  have 
mentioned,  Gothic  buildings  contain  stair- 
cases with  panels  both  of  carved  wood  and 
cut  stone,  these  panels  being  filled  with 
tracery,  mostly  of  a  geometric  character, 
though  with  some  foliations.  Renaissance 
workers  also  used  carved  stone  panels, 
but  this  is  rare  in  England. 

Ironwork  balustrades  seemed  quite  natur- 


164  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

ally  to  expand  into  panels.  The  mediaeval 
work  was  quite  plain,  a  flat-topped  or 
rounded  handrail,  and  straight  bars  rivetted 
or  welded  to  the  rail  and  sealed  in  holes 
drilled  in  the  steps.  In  some  instances 
every  third  or  fourth  square  sectioned 
baluster  is  brought  through  the  handrail 
and  terminated  in  a  spike.  Whether  this 
was  to  facilitate  climbing  steep  stairs  or  to 
frustrate  the  downward  sliding  propensities 
of  youth,  it  is  hard  to  say.  It  was  not 
until  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV  that  the 
French  builders  covered  the  iron  band  with 
a  turned  mahogany  handrail.  But  long 
before  that,  in  Italy  during  the  early  part 
of  the  1 6th  century,  the  iron  balustrade 
was  made  quite  decorative  with  hammer- 
work.  At  first  it  was  a  mere  addition  to 
the  upright  bars,  then  they  were  enclosed 
in  twisted  bands,  so  that  lyre  and  vase- 
shaped  slender  panels  were  formed,  gradually 
filling  up  with  scrolls.  By  beating  out 
parts  of  the  iron,  or  clothing  the  bars  with 
cut-out  sheet  metal,  quite  elaborate  scroll 
work  was  formed. 

A  charming  example  of  the  17th  century 
at  Arrezo  is  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  the 
open  scrolls,  blending  with  uprooted  trees. 


BALUSTRADE,    FROM    GREAT    ST.    HELENS,    E.C.    (SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY). 


THE  BALUSTRADE  165 

Heraldry  was  introduced  quite  lavishly 
usually  with  complete  success.  Occasionally 
we  find  repousse^  shields,  but  as  a  rule  the 
shield  and  emblems  are  skeletonised,  re- 
produced in  hammered  work,  with  perhaps 
a  little  sheet  metal  clothing,  and  often  there 
is  a  delightful  touch  of  imaginative  treat- 
ment, at  once  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the 
nature  of  the  material  and  the  general  design. 
For  instance,  we  see  a  Cardinal's  hat  re- 
presented by  a  campanulla,  its  accompanying 
tendrils  quaintly  twisted  into  the  form  of 
a  cordelier,  with  the  prescribed  number 
of  knots  and  tassels  for  a  Prince  of  the 
Church.  Beneath  this  is  a  shield  in  outline, 
filled  in  with  a  fesse  formed  by  a  broad 
flat  band,  placed  between  six  barrulets 
(represented  by  thin  bars),  while  in  chief 
are  three  stars,  and  in  base  a  fleur-de-lis 
in  beaten  iron  strung  on  thin  unobtrusive 
bands.  The  long  panels  are  supported  on 
curved  and  shaped  rests,  framed  above 
by  a  bar  with  a  series  of  circles,  above 
which  is  the  convex  handrail. 

English  ironwork  of  the  16th  century  is 
mostly  of  the  plain  strap  and  bar  type,  with 
a  few  rosettes.  German  work  of  the  17th 
century    is    decidedly     florid,     with     good 

M 


166  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

scrolls  and  flowers  ;  but  in  straightforward 
design,  without  much  resort  to  clothing, 
practically  the  only  sheet  metal  being 
utilised  in  the  formation  of  the  petals. 

French  ironworkers  developed  this  form 
of  composition  along  very  florid  lines, 
Daniel  Marot's  designs  for  staircase  panels 
being  quite  celebrated.  Marot  was  over 
in  England  in  the  train  of  William  of 
Orange,  but  it  is  not  known  whether  we 
have  any  ironwork  designed  by  him.  The 
florid  style  of  France  was  introduced  in 
England  by  Jean  Tijou,  another  of  William's 
importations,  who  has  left  much  work  at 
Hampton  Court  and  elsewhere.  Our  two 
illustrations  show  very  typical  designs,  taken 
from  his  collection  of  engravings.  The 
long  landing  panel,  with  short  flight  panel, 
is  practically  identical  with  the  ironwork 
balustrade  on  the  second  stairs  at  Chats- 
worth,  the  oval  under  the  coronet  being 
filled  in  with  a  monogram.  The  long,  more 
elaborate  flight  panel  given  has  not  been 
identified,  and  if  ever  actually  carried  out 
was  probably  greatly  modified.  It  departs 
from  the  true  style  of  ironwork  design,  being 
more  suggestive  of  a  mixture  of  metals,  say 
the  addition   of  ornaments   in  bronze   and 


THE  BALUSTRADE  167 

copper.  Such  a  mixture,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  did  come  later,  being  introduced 
occasionally  with  lead  and  cast  iron,  as  we 
see  in  the  Georgian  balustrade  at  Ely  Place 
House,  Dublin.  Another  curiosity  to  be 
seen  in  a  house  on  Merchants  Quay,  Dublin, 
is  a  staircase  with  balusters  composed  of 
flat  perpendicular  bands  in  perforated  brass, 
the  outer  lines  filled  in  with  ovals  enclosing 
trefoils. 

Beaten  and  embossed  sheets  used  so 
lavishly  for  clothing  welded  bars,  scrolls 
and  flattened  centres  by  Marot,  Tijou  and 
other  designers  of  their  school  were  treated 
in  quite  an  extraordinary  way  by  late 
Renaissance  men  in  Italy.  Thin  sheets 
of  iron  were  cut  out  in  most  elaborate 
patterns  and  then  embossed,  from  rounded 
models,  so  that  two  halves  were  produced, 
which  were  then  welded  or  merely  rivetted 
together.  There  is  a  remarkable  17th 
century  Venetian  specimen  of  this  work  at 
the  Victoria  and  Albert  Museum.  It  has 
a  plain  iron  handrail,  the  panel  at  the  base 
being  framed  by  floral  scrolls,  while  the 
balusters  are  represented  by  well  modelled 
cupids  dancing  up  the  steps.  The  scroll- 
work and  figures  are  repoussd  in  two  halves, 


1 68  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

which  are  roughly  rivetted  together.  The 
only  merit  of  this  system  is  the  economy 
of  metal  and  the  lightness  of  the  balustrade, 
which  is  a  contrast  to  the  later  wrought 
and  cast  iron  and  bronze  balustrades,  with 
embellishments  in  copper,  of  the  same 
character  as  are  seen  at  the  Palais  Royal, 
and  at  Chantilly.  This  last  belongs  to 
the  19th  century,  having  been  designed  by 
Honore  Daumier,  the  famous  caricaturist, 
and  cast  by  Daumet.  The  handrail  is 
massive,  decorated  at  its  side  with  the 
Greek  voluted  wave  band,  beneath  which 
are  continuous  foliated  scrolls,  modelled  in 
high  relief,  while  the  string  is  a  hollow 
band  with  beaded  ornamentation,  terminat- 
ing in  volutes.  In  place  of  the  starting 
newel  there  is  a  massive  upright  scroll, 
curving  out  boldly  at  the  foot,  apronwise, 
the  handrail  ending  in  a  handsome  ram's 
head.  This  treatment  is  very  suggestive 
of  the  stonework  balustrade  on  the  terrace 
overlooking  the  lake  of  Como  at  the  villa 
Balbianella,  which  is  filled  with  large 
monograms  bearing  cartouches  supported 
by  amorini  seated  on  scrolls. 

During     the     19th    century,     cast     iron 
balustrades  were  often   deplorably  poor  in 


THE  BALUSTRADE  169 

design,  whether  formed  of  ornamented  bars 
or  flat  panels.  But  of  late  there  has  been 
a  distinct  revival  in  hammered  ironwork, 
usually  straightforward  strapwork,  occasion- 
ally with  the  introduction  of  moderate 
foliation  and  a  little  copper.  Very  excellent 
results  may  thus  be  obtained  for  ordinary 
purposes. 

Freer  treatment  has  also  been  adopted 
by  some  artists,  notably  in  France.  A 
good  instance  of  this  art  adapted  to  material 
and  use  was  shown  in  a  remarkable 
staircase  balustrade  exhibited  by  Felix 
Gilon  in  Paris  two  years  ago.  It  repre- 
sented the  marine  pine  carried  out  in 
hammered  iron.  The  long  flight  panels 
were  framed  in  two  horizontal  bands  at  the 
top  and  one  below,  and  in  between  were 
the  straggly  branches  of  the  pine,  with  its 
bunches  of  long  needles  and  small  round 
cones,  some  closed,  others  partly  open.  It 
was  an  excellent  piece  of  design,  with  its 
sweeping  lines,  suggestive  of  wildness,  but 
judiciously  restrained,  having  no  lateral 
projections.  For  actual  use,  the  top  iron 
bar  ought  to  be  encased  in  moulded  pine 
wood  handrail. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY 

That  tendency  towards  the  commonplace 
so  noticeable  in  much  of  the  later  Georgian 
work  was  accentuated  tenfold  in  England 
with  the  advent  of  the  19th  century, 
growing  worse  as  the  years  rolled  on  until 
well  past  the  mid-Victorian  era.  Taking 
the  first  sixty  or  seventy  years  of  the 
century  there  is  very  little  to  commend, 
and,  in  domestic  architecture,  a  tremendous 
amount  to  be  deplored.  All  the  bold 
originality  of  the  Tudor,  often  rudely 
enough  carried  out,  all  the  sterling  solidity 
combined  with  elegance  of  outline  and  detail 
of  the  Jacobean  staircase,  which  had  lent 
character  to  even  humble  houses  of  the 
bygone  days,  was  swept  away.  An  alien 
classicism,  from  which  it  had  been  found 
necessary    or    expedient    to    eliminate    so 

170 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      171 

much,  at  last  became  so  smooth  and  char- 
acterless that  it  stood  forth  in  stark 
utilitarianism.  So  we  had  the  plain  steps, 
steep,  straight  flights,  plain  balusters  and 
stereotyped  round  polished  handrail ;  the 
whole  combination  a  thing  as  devoid  of 
the  grace  of  design  as  it  was  of  the  life 
of  true  craftsmanship.  Matters  were  not 
mended  when  one  stepped  from  the 
commonplace  brick  box  type  of  house  to 
the  "  overdressed  "  villa,  where  the  obvious 
lack  of  thought  was  not  at  all  concealed 
by  the  ornamentation,  too  clearly  applied 
haphazard  to  the  surface,  not  growing  out 
of  the  structure  itself. 

Gothic  revivalists  scarcely  added  to  the 
immediate  harmony,  though  later  they 
quickened  art  conscience  into  activity, 
which  was  to  end  in  fruitful  labour.  But 
for  the  moment  a  great  deal  of  their  work 
was  stamped  with  unreality,  and  so  con- 
stantly betrayed  the  inappropriateness  of 
ornamentation.  Work  at  Windsor  Castle, 
at  the  happily  demolished  Fonthill  Abbey, 
other  ambitious  country  seats,  and  the 
Gothic  villas  that  still  stand  on  the  out- 
skirts of  many  of  our  towns  bear  sufficient 
witness  to  this. 


172  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

At  Windsor  Castle  Sir  James  Thornhill 
had  painted  for  Queen  Anne  her  State 
staircase,  which  was  large  and  imposing, 
if  not  beautiful.  He  had  indulged  in  a 
profusion  of  allegories  in  the  taste  of  the 
day,  using  umber  heightened  with  gold. 
These  mock  bronzes  and  the  stairs  were 
removed  in  1800  by  Wyatt,  soon  to  be 
metamorphised  into  Sir  Jeffery  Wyatville. 
He  adopted  the  Gothic,  and  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  illustration,  the  stairs  were 
approached  from  under  a  low,  flat  vaulted 
ceiling,  supported  by  clustered  pillars,  with 
capitals  branching  out  into  tracery 
mouldings.  Of  this  staircase  Pyne  says : 
44  This  grand  approach  to  the  State  apart- 
ments is  situated  in  the  north  angle  of 
the  upper  ward,  and  included  a  porch 
leading  to  a  vestibule  divided  by  a  centre 
and  two  sides,  vaulted  in  a  style  of  rich 
Gothic.  From  this  porch  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  stairs  is  forty-five  feet,  the 
centre  division  is  fourteen,  and  the  sides 
each  seven  feet  wide ;  their  extent  one 
hundred  and  eight  feet ;  in  these  are 
niches  with  Gothic  canopies  of  tabernacle 
work.  The  stairs  are  divided  into  two 
flights,    the  first   nineteen,    the    second    of 


)'     o      »      *     * 

,  '  »    1      >  . 


•    -1  >   •  •  • 


^^»u?ski^5 


WROUGHT    IRON    BALUSTRADES,    BY    JEAN    TIJOU. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      173 

fifteen  steps.     There  is  a  gallery  in  front, 
and  one   on  each  side ;    the   front   gallery 
is    twenty-eight    feet   in    height,    the    side 
galleries     each     forty-seven     feet.         The 
balustrades   to   the   staircase   and   galleries 
are   elegantly   designed,    and    executed    in 
iron   bronzed,    with    bases   and   capitals   of 
burnished  steel.     The  staircase  is  enclosed 
within    lofty    walls,   and    terminates    in    a 
lantern,    nearly    one     hundred     feet    from 
the    base,   richly   ornamented   with   Gothic 
tracery.    All  the  ornaments  of  this  elegant 
staircase  were  designed  by  Bernasconi.     But 
it  must  be  acknowledged  the  effect  is  not 
good,   for  the  Medievalism    of  the   archi- 
tecture carries  as  little  conviction  as  does 
the   badly  patched   name  of  the  architect. 
Nor  can  it  be  said  that  we  fared  much 
better  with  our  efforts  at  classic  architecture. 
Probably  the  most  notable  and  certainly  the 
best  of  our  public  staircases  of  those  early 
decades,   is  Sir  Robert    Smirke's   principal 
staircase  at  the   British   Museum.     Smirke 
was  almost  obsessed  with  a  fanaticism  for 
the    Doric    and    Ionic,    which    he    always 
managed  to  make  terribly  solemn,   not  to 
say  sombre.      The  British   Museum  is   an 
honest  and    dignified   piece   of   work,   but 


174  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

it  is  undoubtedly  heavy.     And  that  is  the 
chief  characteristic  of  his  staircase.     Passing 
under    the    heavy    Ionic    portico   with    its 
double   rows   of   immense   fluted   columns, 
the  large  hall  is  entered.     Radiating  from 
the  centre  are  the  entrance  to  the  domed 
rotunda  of  the  Reading  Room,  facing  the 
portico ;    to    the    right    the    long    gallery 
leading  to  the  King's  Library  ;  to  the  left 
the    Grand    Staircase.     It    is    approached 
between  two  huge  columns  and  is  composed 
of  very  long   steps,   solid   blocks   of  stone 
without   nosings,    of  fair   breadth   of  tread 
and  low  rising,  carried  up  between  massive 
walls.     There  is  no  lightening  of  the  effects 
by  the  use   of  columns   or  pilasters  when 
once  the  well  is  entered ;  the  soffits  of  the 
lateral  flights  on   each   side  are  decorated 
with    panels    formed    of    heavy   but    plain 
mouldings ;   while   round  the  staircase  well 
there   is   a   sculptured   thick   band   of   bay 
leaves   midway   up,    and    a    plain    enough 
cornice  with  a  by  no  means  handsome  top 
light  above.     The  walls  are  now  covered 
with     stone     sculptures      of     Hindu     and 
Buddhistic    origin.        Mounting     the     first 
straight  flight  we  find  four  steps,  and  then 
a  narrow  landing,  fourteen  more  steps  and 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      175 

a  further  narrow  landing,  another  fourteen 
and  then  a  broad,  long  landing  placed 
against  the  end  wall.  Then  there  are 
right  and  left  flights  carried  straight  up 
between  the  well  walls  and  a  heavy  balus- 
trade, composed  of  flat  pierced  oblongs, 
with  flat  moulded  edges,  topped  by  a  broad, 
slightly  convex  coping,  a  brass  handrail 
having  been  added  on  the  inner  face  of 
this.  Each  flight  has  28  steps  divided 
by  a  narrow  landing.  The  top  landing 
is  open  and  has  a  screen  wall  with  arched 
openings  adorned  with  Ionic  columns.  It 
will  be  seen  that  while  this  staircase  is 
imposing  in  its  massiveness  and  breadth, 
it  possesses  neither  the  charm  of  elegance 
nor  originality.  There  are  other  equally 
fine  staircases  in  the  Museum,  mostly 
carried  up  as  straight  flights,  winding 
round  to  sides  of  the  well,  but  also  quite 
uninspiring. 

In  private  houses  there  was  occasionally 
something  a  little  better.  At  Bridgwater 
House,  St  James's  Park,  a  staircase  was 
built  in  1849  reminding  one  of  the  Thorpe- 
Vanbrugh  design  at  Audley  End.  A  three 
arched  screen  divides  the  hall  from  the 
staircase  vestibule,  and  the  straight  flight 


176  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

conducts  to  an  arcaded  gallery  with 
balustrade,  the  arcades  formed  of  coupled 
columns.  Benjamin  Wyatt  who  built 
Stafford  House  lined  the  magnificent  hall 
with  imitation  giallo  antico  relieved  by 
Corinthian  columns  of  white  marble.  Thence 
there  was  a  broad  flight  of  marble  steps 
to  a  landing,  with  right  and  left  reversed 
flights  protected  by  a  handsome  gilded 
balustrade.  This  was  splendidly  conceived, 
both  as  regards  breadth,  flowing  lines  and 
the  harmonious  variety  of  rich  materials 
used.  Lord  Ronald  Leveson-Gower  has 
waxed  enthusiastic  over  the  beauty  of  the 
scene  when  the  hall,  staircase  and  galleries 
were  lighted  up  on  gala  night,  and  thronged 
with  fair  women  in  pretty  coloured  garments 
and  men  in  gorgeous  uniforms,  a  picture 
which  Benjamin  Disraeli  described  in  one 
of  his  novels  with  all  the  magic  of  his 
polychromatic  phrasing. 

Both  as  regards  grandeur  and  imaginative 
treatment  the  State  staircase  at  London- 
derry House,  Park  Lane,  probably  sur- 
passes anything  of  its  kind  in  London. 
The  entrance  hall  leads  to  a  kind  of 
atrium,  surrounded  by  galleries  supported 
on  slender  fluted   Corinthian  columns.     A 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      177 

short  flight  of  broad  steps  leads  to  a  half- 
way landing  under  a  gallery,  and  thence 
two  flights  run  at  right  angles,  right  and 
left,  to  a  landing  on  the  first  floor,  passing 
under  a  screen  wall  supported  by  two 
groups  of  coupled  columns  and  two  pilasters, 
into  the  gallery,  which  is  carried  right  round, 
with  similar  openings  on  each  of  the  other 
three  sides.  The  balustrade  is  a  handsome 
one  of  wrought  iron,  composed  of  two  forms 
of  upright  panels,  one  lyre-shaped  and 
both  filled  with  delicate  work,  with  a  single 
ornamental  bar  baluster  between  them, 
and  topped  by  a  fluted  handrail.  The 
upper  part  of  the  wall,  at  the  level  of  the 
openings,  is  decorated  with  a  broad,  sculp- 
tured band,  with  cornice,  and  above  this 
over  each  opening  is  a  blind  arch  traced 
in  handsome  mouldings.  Eight  tall  pilasters 
with  foliated  capitals  spring  from  panels 
at  the  first  floor  level  and  reach  up  to  a 
projecting  moulded  cornice,  above  which 
is  a  shell  cornice  just  below  the  covings, 
which  are  adorned  with  small  square  sunken 
panels  containing  rosettes.  The  middle 
of  the  ceiling  is  glazed.  There  is  an  almost 
startling  contrast  between  this  pure  piece 
of  Palladian    work    and    the    late    French 


i;8  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

Renaissance  style  of  the  state  rooms,  but 
such  vagaries  were  too  characteristic  of 
that  period,  and  indeed  specially  of  the 
architects,  Samuel  and  Benjamin  Wyatt, 
who  completed  this  about  the  middle  of 
the  century. 

Another  mansion  in  Park  Lane,  Dor- 
chester House,  built  for  Mr  R.  S.  Holford, 
by  Lewis  Vulliamy  between  the  years  1850- 
53,  is  in  more  unmixed  Italian  style,  and 
contains  a  remarkable  staircase.  It  occupies 
the  centre  of  the  house,  in  a  court  lighted 
from  above,  surrounded  by  an  open  arcaded 
gallery  with  balustrade,  supported  by 
coupled  columns.  The  arches  have  coupled 
columns,  placed  abreast,  not  one  behind 
the  other  as  at  Londonderry  House,  while 
at  the  angles  are  splendid  clustered  columns. 
These  support  projecting  cornices,  above 
spring  the  arches.  The  galleries  are 
vaulted,  and  adorned  on  the  external  walls 
with  pilasters.  Above  the  arcade  is  a 
broad  band,  the  ornaments  being  alternately 
palmettes  and  roses,  over  this  is  a  dentiled 
moulding  and  then  a  projecting  cornice. 
On  this  part  rest  arched  windows,  with 
coupled  flat  pilasters  and  decorative  panels 
between.      A  double  cornice  connects  the 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      179 

whole  with  the  deep  framed  and  painted 
covings.  The  staircase  itself  is  of  marble, 
and  the  steps  having  broad  treads,  moderate 
nosings  and  very  low  risers.  A  flight  runs 
parallel  to  one  side  of  the  gallery  to  the 
angle  of  the  wall,  where  there  is  a  landing, 
and  then  another  flight  parallel  to  the  other 
side  to  the  first  floor,  with  an  intermediate 
landing  supported  on  small  open  arches. 
The  balustrade  is  of  marble,  with  a  broad 
flat  handrail  and  dwarf  pillars  with  swelling 
bases.  Square  pillars  with  shaped  bases 
and  corniced  caps  brake  up  the  balustrade 
at  the  landings,  the  handrail  joining  below 
the  cornice  where  there  is  a  scrolled  leaf. 
The  string  is  marked  out  by  plain  raised 
mouldings,  and  beneath  this  a  band  of 
delicate  carving. 

An  agreeable  feature  introduced  in  stair 
building  for  mansions  and  houses  of  medium 
size  was  the  converting  of  the  intermediate 
landing  into  a  kind  of  ante-chamber,  with 
alcoves,  seats  and  stands  for  plants.  Oc- 
casionally these  were  extended  by  adjoining 
balconies,  either  open  with  portico,  or  en- 
closed with  columns  and  glazing,  and  adorned 
with  plants.  In  order  to  emphasise  this  arr- 
angement, arches  were  sometimes  provided. 


i8o  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

Another  pleasing  innovation  was  the  ad- 
mission of  broken  surfaces  on  the  staircase 
walls  and  the  bolder  use  of  colour.  This 
came  well  after  the  sixties,  as  the  result  of 
the  art  awakening  caused  by  the  activities 
of  such  men  as  Ruskin,  the  Rossettis,  William 
Morris,  Walter  Crane  and  others. 

How  far  this  use  of  colour  was  sometimes 
carried  may  be  instanced  by  a  description 
of  a  hall  and  staircase  decorative  scheme 
carried  out  by  Mr  Andrew  Wells  in  a 
Glasgow  house.  The  entrance  hall,  divided 
into  three  sections  by  Corinthian  columns, 
had  the  ceiling  and  walls  covered  with  hand- 
painted  panels.  The  ground  of  the  ceiling 
was  light  blue  and  gold,  with  decorations 
in  darker  shades  of  blue.  Thin  lines  of 
Persian  red,  orange  and  gold  framed  the 
panels,  while  the  cornice  was  picked  out  in 
pale  blue  and  fawn  colour,  with  smaller  en- 
richments in  Persian  red  and  gold.  A  pale 
salmon  was  chosen  for  the  mid-walls,  on 
which  were  painted  panels  of  figures  repre- 
senting the  Seasons  on  a  background  of 
gold  diapered  with  raw  sienna.  To  har- 
monise the  whole,  the  panels  were  framed 
with  broad  bands  of  black,  with  an  inner 
line  of  vermilion  and  an  outer  line  of  gold. 


-      •    •   » 


'••-«-••„•-••      * 


•  •     •*        •  •. 


:  1 U  I 


ENGLISH    WROUGHT    IRON    STAIR    PANELS. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTTRY      iSl 

Intermediate  spaces  were  covered  with  arab- 
esques carried  out  in  darker  shades.  A 
dado  of  dark  brown  contrasted  with  the 
elaborate  cupola  painted  with  figures  on 
gold  panels  and  ornaments  in  Persian  blue. 
The  cornice  of  the  stairway  was  broad, 
decorated  with  groups  of  boys  and  Re- 
naissance columns,  floral  festoons  uniting 
them.  Under  the  frieze  was  a  broad  band 
of  crimson  painted  with  the  Greek  key 
design  in  chocolate  and  black.  For  the 
main  walls  a  scheme  of  graduated  colora- 
tions was  adopted,  variations  being  intro- 
duced at  each  landing  and  every  storey, 
beginning  with  the  soft  red  in  the  hall  and 
ending  with  warm  primrose  at  the  top,  each 
division  being  marked  by  bands  of  hand- 
painted  ornaments  in  harmonising  tints. 
The  woodwork  was  painted  a  dark  Indian 
red  with  Prussian  blue  ornaments,  and  was 
highly  polished. 

In  the  main,  the  scheme,  though  perhaps 
rather  bold,  coincided  with  the  rules  advo- 
cated by  Mr  John  Dibblee  Crace.  His 
advice  was  to  introduce  a  distinct  contrast 
in  the  colouring  between  lower  and  upper 
floors,  using  cornice  and  decorative  bands 
as  bridging  links.     He  claimed  that  if  this 

N 


182  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

were  done,  the  darker  shades  being  used 
for  lower  storeys  and  dados,  not  only  was 
an  air  of  stability  given,  but  the  treadmill 
effect  of  continuous  flights  was  overcome. 
For  this  reason,  too,  he  advocates  breadth- 
giving  horizontal  lines  and  the  decoration 
of  soffits  with  moulded  panels  or  stencilled 
ornaments. 

On  the  Continent  of  Europe  staircase 
design  never  fell  to  quite  such  a  low  ebb 
as  it  did  in  Great  Britain,  partly  owing  to 
the  greater  interest  taken  in  architecture, 
and  partly  to  the  custom  of  grouping  a 
number  of  dwellings  in  large  houses.  Thus 
attention  to  the  principal  staircases  was 
natural  in  countries  where  even  the  mag- 
nificent private  hotels,  the  family  mansions 
are  generally  planned  on  the  grouping 
system,  containing  main  suites  and  winges 
or  other  suites  for  bachelors  and  younger 
manages.  The  tradition  of  the  State  stair- 
way is  therefore  kept  alive  in  every  street 
and  in  every  town.  Access  to  these  stair- 
cases is  generally  gained  through  an  open 
or  closed  court  or  from  under  a  porte 
cockere.  In  private  mansions  the  com- 
bination of  three  flights,  one  and  two, 
or  two  and  one,  to  the  first   floor,  are  the 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      183 

rule,  but  in  larger  groupings  successive 
flights  are  generally  carried  round  the  walls 
of  a  square,  oblong,  semi-circular  or  ovoid 
well.  They  are  generally  of  easy  gradient, 
with  spacious  landings.  The  fault  with 
most  of  these  until  recent  years,  and  even 
now,  is  the  habit  of  using  top  or  borrowed 
lights.  A  cupola  rarely  gives  adequate 
light  in  the  staircase  well  of  a  tall  house, 
and  windows  looking  out  into  inner  courts 
are  quite  as  unsatisfactory.  A  quaint  and 
obnoxious  feature  of  the  older  dwellings 
is  that  domestic  offices  often  draw  their 
only  light  and  ventilation  from  the  staircase. 
In  Italy  the  open  staircase,  those  in 
towns  generally  being  placed  in  courtyards, 
are  still  the  fashion.  This  brings  one 
to  the  fact  that  outside  staircases  were, 
and  are  still,  much  favoured  in  country 
districts.  It  is  a  common  thing  in  some 
parts  of  Italy  and  France  to  see  an  out- 
side staircase  leading  to  the  first  floor,  the 
ground  floor  being  used  as  store-rooms 
and  offices.  Or  again,  we  may  find  the 
ground  floor  forming  one  residence,  and  the 
upper  floor  approached  by  an  open  staircase 
in  the  old  Roman  style,  used  as  another. 
From  this  custom  many  a  laughable  anec- 


1 84  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

dote  has  sprung,  relating  how  an  architect 
had  built  his  house,  forgetting  all  about 
facilities  for  vertical  access  from  floor  to 
floor,  and  so  being  compelled  to  add  an 
outside  stairway.  This  mischance  is  popu- 
larly supposed  to  have  befallen  Balzac,  who, 
as  the  rather  doubtfully  authenticated  story 
goes,  so  worried  his  architect  during  the 
fashioning  of  Les  Jardies  that  the  staircase 
was  utterly  forgotten.  It  is  far  more  pro- 
bable that  the  then  less  orthodox  method 
of  access  had  its  attractions  for  the  fantastic 
minded  novelist. 

Of  public  staircases  erected  in  Paris 
during  the  past  century  one  at  least  de- 
serves extended  notice,  and  that  is  Charles 
Garnier's  masterpiece  at  the  Grand  Opera, 
built  between  1861  and  1875.  It  is  cer- 
tainly a  thing  of  marvellous  boldness  and 
beauty.  A  dream,  truly.  Not  like  those 
nightmares  of  the  poor  fevered  brains  of 
a  Piranesi  or  a  De  Quincey,  but  a  joyous 
thought  of  a  Boccaccio  translated  into  an 
intricate  structure  of  gorgeously  coloured 
stones  and  metals.  For  all  the  world  it 
is  as  though  groups  of  Graces,  awakened 
by  Comedy  and  the  strains  of  Apollo's 
lyre,    had   with    the    amorini   seduced   the 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      185 

gleaming  porphyries,  the  brilliant  marbles 
all  encircled  by  golden  flowers,  into  joining 
them  in  a  mazy  aerial  dance,  in  the  midst 
of  which  they  had  been  caught  and  im- 
mobilised in  a  magic  trance,  so  daring  is 
the  conception  of  the  flying  stairways,  the 
sweeping  lines  of  the  balustrades,  the  bal- 
conies now  hiding  behind  the  pillared 
arcades,  now  advancing  in  bold  corbelling. 
Gamier  himself  has  written  of  this  part 
of  his  work  that  he  regarded  it  as  the 
appropriate  scene  for  masked  fairy  revels. 
Thus  to  its  creator  it  was  "a  gilded  cage, 
a  wide  open  basket,  an  immense  casket,  in 
which  hover,  bloom  and  glitter  the  fairy 
world  of  butterflies,  flowers  and  precious 
stones." 

And  what,  it  may  be  asked,  is  there  to 
justify  all  this  imagery  ?  Well,  on  entering 
the  sub-ground  floor  the  low  vaulted  vesti- 
bule is  a  mass  of  floral  arabesques,  carried 
out  in  high  relief  stucco,  heavily  gilded, 
and  richly  coloured.  Facing  the  entrance 
is  an  alcove  sheltering  a  graceful  figure, 
with  a  fountain  before  it.  On  either  side 
are  two  huge  mirrors,  reflecting  in  endless 
vistas  the  massive  garlanded  and  festooned 
columns   which   guard   the    right    and    left 


1 86  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

flights,  sweeping  in  gentle  curves  upwards 
through  a  tunnel  of  splendid  arabesques. 
These  stairs  debouch  on  the  grand  vestibule, 
on  either  side  of  the  main  stairway,  the 
steps  of  white  Serravezza  marble  mounting 
in  a  gentle  slope  between  a  balustrade  of 
greeny  white  onyx,  supported  by  its  228 
balusters  of  red  marble  on  square  bases 
of  green  Swedish  marble.  On  pedestals 
behind  this  balustrade  are  groups  of  female 
figures  in  marble  with  draperies  in  bronze, 
and  small  nude  boys  holding  aloft  torches 
of  many  branched  lights.  At  the  level  of 
the  vestibule  of  the  facade  a  wide  landing 
is  reached,  and  facing  the  stairway  is  a 
monumental  doorway  in  precious  marbles 
flanked  by  two  colossal  polychromatic 
caryatic  figures,  supporting  a  heavy 
pediment,  on  which  are  two  amorini  up- 
holding a  shield  of  the  arms  of  Paris. 
Right  and  left  are  two  flights,  carried  at 
right  angles  on  flying  bridges  over  the 
lower  flights.  The  square  cage  of  this 
stairway  is  agleam  with  marbles,  gilding, 
vivid  mosaics,  bronze  and  gold  torches 
and  the  warm  coloured  paintings  of  the 
soffit.  On  the  first  floor  level  are  thirty 
great  monolithic  marble  columns,  alternately 


•  •♦•»•      » 


HALL    AND    STAIRCASE,    FORMERLY    IN    HATTON    GARDEN,    W.C. 


THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY      187 

violet  and  peach  hued,  standing  on  white 
bases  and  crowned  by  snowy  capitals. 
Towards  the  outer  lobby  they  are  ranged 
in  groups  of  four,  elsewhere  they  are 
coupled.  Each  storey  is  arcaded,  with 
twelve  openings.  Advancing  out  from 
these  arcades,  hanging  over  the  stairways 
and  lobby,  are  corbelled  balconies  with 
translucent  balustrades  of  fluorspar.  On 
the  second  storey  the  balconies,  with 
balustrades  of  marble,  are  seen  just  behind 
the  columns,  while  a  little  below  the  coving 
of  the  soffit,  with  their  gaily  painted 
allegorical  canvases,  are  another  row  of 
balconies  with  stone  balustrades.  Such 
is  an  all  too  succinct  account  of  a  work 
which  has  been  much  criticised,  but  re- 
mains one  of  the  attractions  of  a  city  of 
palaces. 

Without  going  into  the  intricacies  of 
planning  and  construction,  it  may  be  added 
that  Gamier  provided  his  opera  house 
with  five  service  staircases.  Two  of  these 
are  semi-circular.  Two  others  are  practically 
in  duplicate,  that  is  to  say  the  alternate 
right  and  left  semi-spiral  flights  meet  on 
common  landings,  and  then  diverge  left 
and   right,    thus   forming   a   kind   of  criss- 


188  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS  ; 

cross  trellis.  They  are  constructed  of  iron 
girders  imbedded  in  mortar,  and  have 
wooden  treads  and  zinc  risers.  Gamier 
made  a  special  study  of  the  handling  of 
crowds  and  dramatic  companies  in  theatres, 
and  the  construction  of  staircases  for  this 
purpose.  His  remarks  contained  in  his 
monograph  on  theatre  construction  are 
well  worth  perusal. 

It  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  to 
describe  or  give  a  list  of  the  other  grand 
staircases  in  France  and  other  Continental 
countries,  the  general  trend  as  regards 
design  and  decoration  having  been  made 
sufficiently  clear. 


CHAPTER  XI 

PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE 

When  we  come  to  consider  work  carried 
out  during  the  past  three  decades  it  is 
evident  that  staircase  building  is  as  in- 
coherent as  is  architecture  in  general  at  the 
present  day.  It  is  impossible  to  discern 
any  particular  style,  or  even  any  signs  of 
a  tendency  towards  the  formation  of  a 
style,  so  largely  and  unmistakably  are  we 
influenced  by  the  bolder  characteristics  of 
all  ages  and  countries.  Nevertheless  there 
is  this  much  to  be  recorded  as  clear  gain  : 
it  is  recognised  that  the  staircase  must  be 
made  comfortable,  if  possible  picturesque, 
and,  like  the  hall,  should  be  so  handled  as 
to  strike  a  note  that  will  individualise  the 
edifice,  be  it  a  public  building  or  a  modest 
dwelling. 

In  London  we  see  the  improvement  that 

189 


190  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

has  steadily  grown  since  the  eighties  of 
last  century  by  studying  a  group  of  buildings 
at  South  Kensington.  First  there  is  the 
Natural  History  Branch  of  the  British 
Museum,  with  remarkably  good  staircases, 
both  as  regards  planning  and  blending  of 
materials.  Then  there  is  Mr  Collcutt's 
"Free  Classic"  Imperial  Institute,  with 
its  broad  stepped,  easy  sloped  stairway, 
passing  under  columned  archways,  linking 
up  wide  landings  which  broaden  out  into 
corridors  right  and  left.  And  thirdly  there 
is  the  even  freer  classic  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum  of  Sir  Aston  Webb,  with  its 
magnificent  staircases  of  marble  steps 
arranged  in  alternate  flights  round  square 
marble-lined  cages,  leading  to  various  land- 
ings, opening  out  into  galleries  or  into 
arcaded  and  balustraded  corridors. 

At  the  Central  Criminal  Court,  Old  Bailey, 
City  of  London,  designed  by  Mr  E.  W. 
Mountford,  the  grand  staircase  leading  from 
the  marble  lined  hall  to  the  courts  is 
adorned  with  alabaster,  Verde  Antico,  and 
Hopton  Wood  marble.  A  flight  of  broad 
steps  passes  up  between  heavy  balustrades 
through  a  square  doorway  to  a  half-way 
landing,    and    then    right    and   left   to   the 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  191 

upper  hall,  which  is  surmounted  by  a  dome 
containing  fine  paintings  and  beautifully 
sculptured  pendentives,  The  handrail  is 
hipped  wherever  it  approaches  the  massive 
corniced  pillars,  which  take  the  place  of 
newels. 

In  the  New  City  Hall,  Belfast,  designed 
by  Sir  A.  Brummel  Thomas  in  the  Palladian 
style,  the  grand  staircase  is  approached 
under  an  arch,  supported  by  two  massive 
pillars,  having  in  front  quaint  consoles. 
The  first  approach  is  by  three  semi-circular 
steps,  the  top  one  forming  a  landing,  then 
plain  steps  without.nosings,  pass  up  between 
balustrades,  with  slender  shaped  pillar  bal- 
usters, to  a  spacious  landing,  thence  branch- 
ing right  and  left  to  the  first  floor  landing, 
where  there  is  an  open,  balustraded  circular 
gallery  under  the  dome  and  looking  down 
on  the  pillared  staircase  hall.  Carrara, 
Pavonazzo  and  Brescia  marbles  are  used, 
and  there  are  seven  three- light  stained 
glass  windows  to  illuminate  its  grandeur. 
Fine  as  it  undoubtedly  is  both  as  regards 
design  and  material,  one  can  but  regret 
that  the  splendid  variety  of  rich  native 
marbles  and  granites,  with  their  wide  range 
of  colouring,   looking   so   well   both  rough 


192  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

dressed  and  polished,  were  not  chosen  for 
a  public  building  of  this  character. 

In  Glasgow  there  is  the  recently  completed 
Mitchell  Library,  designed  by  Mr  W.  B. 
White,  who  has  placed  the  principal  stair- 
case in  a  semi-circular  turret  in  the  middle 
of  the  main  fagade.  It  is  of  Blackpasture 
polished  freestone,  carried  up  in  short  flights, 
with  ample  half-way  landings,  provided  with 
dwarf  pillar  balustrade  having  a  heavy  coping. 
It  is  adorned  with  massive  columns,  coupled 
on  the  half  landings,  has  open  main  landing, 
passes  under  a  coved  ceiling,  with  project- 
ing cornice  supported  on  fluted  Corinthian 
pilasters,  and  is  lighted  from  the  cupola. 

Now,  apart  from  their  spaciousness,  bold- 
ness of  handling,  perfect  harmony  with  their 
surroundings,  there  is  nothing,  not  even  in 
the  treatment  of  detail  or  ornamentation,  to 
stamp  any  one  of  these  as  belonging  to  a 
particular  age. 

On  the  Continent,  in  France  and  Italy, 
the  Renaissance  as  tamed  by  neo-classicism 
bears  a  more  distinctive  character  than  it 
does  with  us.  The  style  is  dignified, 
especially  when  applied  to  public  buildings. 
For  then  we  see  a  certain  severity  in  deal- 
ing with  broad  surfaces,  but  relieved  here 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  193 

and  there  by  carved  detail,  chiefly  carried 
towards  the  cornices  and  soffits,  while  there 
is  a  delightful  use  of  sculpture,  single  figure 
and  groups  being  more  often  treated  as  in- 
tegral parts  of  the  structure  than  as  inde- 
pendent works  of  art  placed  in  an  appropriate 
setting.  In  Germany  the  classic  style  is 
rather  more  florid  as  to  decorative  detail, 
and,  moreover,  shows  a  curious  Byzantine 
influence,  both  as  regards  general  outline 
and  ornamentation. 

Partaking  in  a  measure  of  the  nature  of 
public  buildings,  large  blocks  of  flats  afford 
the  architect  exceptional  opportunities  for 
displaying  his  skill  in  designing  staircases. 
In  England  the  rule  to  which  C.  J. 
Richardson  called  attention,  that  in  public 
buildings  the  tread  of  each  step  should  be 
13  inches  deep  and  the  riser  6  inches,  or 
preferably  5I  inches,  and  for  private  houses 
the  tread  12J  inches  and  the  riser  6  inches, 
is  generally  observed,  even  with  a  tendency 
towards  greater  ease,  though  the  other  de- 
mand that  a  landing  2  feet  6  inches  deep 
should  be  placed  between  every  6  or  7 
steps  is  rarely  conceded.  Owing  to  the 
costliness  of  sites  in  London  and  other 
big  cities,  the  urgent  necessity  of  making 


194  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

the  most  of  space  often  militates  against 
good  planning.  While  there  is  a  general 
tendency  to  make  the  main  entrance  and 
staircase  a  central  architectural  feature,  too 
often  the  well  of  the  cage  is  occupied  by 
a  lift.  Now,  as  Mr  Frank  J.  Verity  points 
out,  "The  passenger  lift,  which  is  mainly 
used  to  ascend  to  the  upper  floors,  should 
not  be  placed  in  the  well-hole  of  the  stair- 
case, for  the  regulations  of  the  London 
County  Council  require  lifts  to  be  protected 
by  an  arrangement  of  ironwork  which  is 
unsightly  and  appears  to  diminish  the  size 
of  the  staircase."1  Moreover,  the  practice 
is  not  without  danger,  because  in  the  event 
of  a  really  serious  fire  the  lift-hole  is  apt 
to  become  a  veritable  furnace,  thus  placing 
the  stairway  out  of  service.  A  shiftless 
method  occasionally  adopted  is  to  place 
both  main  staircase  and  service  stairs  in 
the  same  well  or  cage,  merely  separated 
by  a  partition.  No  doubt  valuable  space 
is  thus  saved,  but  again  at  the  expense 
of  safety.  It  is  perhaps  too  much  to  expect 
an  architect  to  carry  out  the  central  feature 
idea  by  placing  the  staircase  in  an  exterior 

1  "  Flats,  Urban  Houses  and  Country  Cottage  Homes," 
edited  by  W.  Shaw  Sparrow. 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  195 

turret,  as  Mr  White  has  done  at  the 
Mitchell  Library.  Charles  Gamier  said 
that  one  of  the  good  points  of  19th 
century  architecture  was  the  planning  of 
staircases  in  large  houses  so  that  they 
should  not  convey  cold  air  from  outside 
all  over  the  building,  but  rather,  thanks 
to  central  heating,  convey  pleasing  warmth 
to  every  apartment.  The  outside  turret 
might  be  thought  to  nullify  the  victory 
gained  over  wind  and  fog,  but  the  objec- 
tion would  be  met  half-way  if  the  entrance 
was  placed  in  an  inside  court.  The  feature 
praised  by  Gamier  too  frequently  led  to 
grievous  sinning  against  hygiene,  the  stair- 
case tightly  packed  in  a  massive  block,  was 
badly  lighted  and  still  worse  ventilated. 
Mr  Edwin  T.  Hall,  in  contrasting  British 
and  Continental  methods  of  flat-building, 
says :  "  I  could  draw  attention  to  the 
general  feature  abroad  of  staircases  planned 
as  semi-circles,  ellipses  or  on  other  curved 
lines.  The  result  is  artistic  and  very  pleas- 
ing, and  it  contrasts  favourably  with  the 
straight  flights  of  stairs  in  rectangular 
spaces  so  frequently  seen."  *     He  adds  the 

1  "  Flats,  Urban  Houses  and  Country  Cottage  Homes," 
edited  by  W.  Shaw  Sparrow. 


196  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

warning  note  that  "  curved  flights  of  stairs 
should  not  extend  from  floor  to  floor  with 
intermediate  landings."  However,  Richard- 
son's landings  for  every  seven  steps  are 
rarely  forthcoming  abroad,  consequently 
some  of  these  curved  stairs  not  only  look 
monotonous  but  are  positively  tiring,  in 
spite  of  low  risers.  A  good  feature, 
specially  noticeable  in  Paris,  is  that  the 
staircases  are  now  placed  either  against 
external  walls,  or  overlooking  inner  courts. 

A  difficulty  that  frequently  arises  is  the 
problem  of  lighting.  When  staircases 
reaching  above  the  first  floor  are  placed  in 
the  centre  of  large,  tall  houses,  top  lighting 
is  almost  always  necessary.  This  is  rarely 
satisfactory  when  mere  cupola  glazing  is 
adopted.  It  is  far  better  to  have  a  coved 
ceiling,  carrying  the  centre  higher  on 
pillars  or  pierced  arches,  admitting  the  light 
from  the  side,  as  is  done  so  effectively 
at  Ashburnham  House.  It  often  happens 
when  a  staircase  is  placed  against  external 
walls  that  for  the  sake  of  preserving  the 
uniformity  of  the  fagade  all  the  windows 
are  identical  in  size  and  shape,  with  the 
result  that  the  stairs  sometimes  cut  across 
a   window,    producing    a    very    bad    effect. 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  197 

It  is  far  better  to  mark  frankly  the  presence 
of  the  staircase  by  designing  special  windows. 
A  very  good  instance  of  how  to  do  this 
is  to  be  seen  in  Professor  Reginald  Blom- 
field's  three-light  window  on  the  staircase 
of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge  Club,  Pall 
Mall.  The  tall  middle  window  is  arched, 
the  shorter  side  windows  have  square 
tops  and  are  flanked  by  columns.  This 
looks  well  both  from  the  interior  and 
exterior.  One  way  of  circumventing  the 
difficulty  is  to  go  back  to  the  turret,  round 
or  square.  As  Mr  T.  Raffles  Davison  says 
in  his  "  Modern  Houses,"  the  turret  is  also 
useful  in  simplifying  planning.  "  It  will 
be  found,"  he  says  "that  if  the  staircases 
were  more  often  treated  as  an  enclosed 
and  separate  apartment  there  would  be 
a  gain  to  the  general  comfort  of  the  plan." 
This  enclosure  need  not  mean  a  turret, 
but  that  this  is  his  ideal  for  country  use 
he  makes  plain  by  stating  his  opinion  that 
11  if  the  staircase,  bath  and  conveniences 
were  all  arranged  together  in  a  tower  or 
gabled  projection  from  the  main  building, 
comfort,  economy  and  artistic  effect  would 
often  result."  For  many  reasons,  however, 
we  incline  to  think  that  this  grouping  is 
o 


198  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

unwise ;  it  is  certainly  not  a  success  as 
handled  by  Continental  builders  of  flats. 

Before  we  deal  with  country  houses  it 
will  be  well  to  consider  a  few  typical  or 
otherwise  noteworthy  examples  of  staircase 
building  in  town  dwellings. 

Possibly  one  of  the  most  ambitious  and 
at  the  same  time  interesting  of  recent 
undertakings  in  London  is  due  to  Mr 
Detmar  Blow  and  Mr  Fernand  Billerey, 
who  carried  out  the  internal  reconstruction 
of  No.  10,  Carlton  House  Terrace,  a 
mansion  built  by  Nash.  It  certainly  shows 
considerable  originality.  On  entering  the 
large  hall  a  broad  sweep  of  marble  steps 
is  seen  under  a  wide,  rather  low  archway. 
It  is  placed  laterally  to  the  outer  wall,  the 
lower  steps  curving  outwardly  into  an 
almost  voluted  form.  This  flight  leads 
to  a  half-way  landing,  the  back  wall  pierced 
by  two  oval  openings.  From  this  landing 
the  stairs  sweep  upwards  in  a  curve,  then 
mounts  at  right  angles  to  the  first  floor 
landing,  where  the  stairhead  is  marked 
by  coupled  fluted  Corinthian  columns  and 
side  pilasters,  whence  spring  vaultings. 
Facing  these  columns  are  a  second  pair 
over    the    half    landing,    as    well    as    two 


TRINITY    HOUSE,    TOWER    HILL,    LONDON. 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  199 

pilasters,  these  carrying  two  arches. 
Through  these  arches  is  seen  the  second- 
ary semi-elliptical  staircase,  designed  for 
the  more  private  quarters.  The  view  of 
this  inner  stairway  is  decidedly  effective, 
though  perhaps  somewhat  marred  by  the 
balustraded  gallery  cutting  right  across  the 
arches  on  the  inner  instead  of  the  far  side. 
Over  the  well  of  the  main  staircase  is  a 
circular  balustraded  gallery,  through  which 
a  handsome  electrolier  depends  from  the 
cupola  above.  Then  upon  the  right,  tall 
windows  pierced  in  the  inner  wall  of  the 
Salon  have  corbelled  balconies  jutting 
out  over  the  stairs,  the  wall  being  adorned 
with  pilasters  between  each  pair.  Every- 
thing harmonises  well.  *  Hall  and  staircases 
are  lined  with  Caen  and  Painswick  stone, 
the  steps,  7ft.  6  ins.  long,  are  single  blocks 
of  Irish  black  marble,  the  floors  and  landings 
are  paved  with  Irish  black  and  Pentelikon 
marbles,  while  the  heavy  balustrade  starting 
from  a  massive  pillar  with  upstanding 
pedestal  crowned  by  a  conically  covered 
vase,  is  of  wrought  iron  and  bronze,  sup- 
ported on  a  strong,  rounded  kerb,  a 
continuation  of  the  string  which  hides  the 
steps.      Enriched    stucco    on    the    ceilings 


200  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

and  vaultings,  the  bronze  balconies  and 
bold  mouldings,  all  combine  to  make  up 
a  remarkable  composition. 

Another  instructive  piece  of  remodelling 
was  carried  out  by  Mr  E.  F.  C.  Buckley 
at  67  Queen's  Gate,  S.  W.  Before  altera- 
tions a  narrow  passage  led  direct  from  the 
entrance  door  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs. 
On  the  left  of  this  passage  was  a  library, 
which  practically  formed  an  ante-chamber 
to  the  dining-room  beyond.  In  the  re- 
arrangement the  walls  of  the  library  were 
removed,  and  that  room  thus  became  part 
of  the  hall,  but  as  the  wall  between  the 
library  and  staircase  carried  the  interior 
of  the  house,  it  was  replaced  by  three 
free  and  two  engaged  columns,  supporting 
arches.  The  staircase  carried  against  the 
wall  in  long,  easy  sweeps,  with  spacious 
half  landings,  was  placed  behind  the  pillars 
the  whole  exterior  side  from  string  to  floor, 
as  well  as  the  walls,  being  panelled,  while 
the  balustrade  is  of  bronze  in  a  light  trellis 
pattern.  By  this  planning  semi-privacy  is 
gained,  though  the  architectonic  value  of 
the  staircase,  showing  up  behind  the 
columns  in  the  shadow  of  the  arches,  is 
retained.      The    colour   scheme    is    by   no 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE         201 

means  the  least  noteworthy  feature.  The 
walls  are  painted  in  ivory-white,  the  columns 
of  dark  green  Vert  des  Alpes  marble  with 
bronze  square  flat  abacus  and  plinth,  and 
the  electric  and  the  electric  and  other  metal 
fittings  of  unlacquered  bronze. 

The  use  of  the  arch  in  giving  this  semi- 
privacy  with  the  added  charm  of  half 
concealed  vistas,  is  well  demonstrated  at 
Escourt  House,  Kensington  Palace  Gardens, 
where  we  find  three  arches  dividing  the 
panelled  black  and  white  marble  paved  hall. 
The  middle  and  one  of  the  outer  arches  are 
filled  with  square  transomed  doors,  with 
traceried  fanlights  over  them,  while  the 
other  outer  archway  accommodates  the 
stairs.  These  are  of  wood,  the  three  lower 
steps  coming  through  the  arch  well  into  the 
hall  and  protected  on  the  outside  by  two 
carved  newels  with  pointed  terminals. 
These  stairs  are  carried  up  between 
panelled  walls  to  a  half  -  way  landing, 
whence  there  is  a  return  flight  to  the  first 
floor  landing,  which  forms  a  square  lobby 
with  centre  open  circular  gallery  overlooking 
the  hall,  the  balusters  having  thin  plain 
shafts,  with  top  and  bottom  rings  and  square 
abacus  and  plinth. 


202  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

In  Mr  Horace  Field's  entrance  hall  and 
main  staircase  at  the  offices  of  the  North 
Eastern  Railway  Company,  Westminster, 
we  have  a  barrel  vault  ceiling,  with  strong 
mouldings,  the  walls  being  panelled  to  the 
springing  of  the  vault.  At  the  end  of  the 
hall  is  the  staircase  of  wood,  the  panelling 
carried  up  on  a  level  with  the  balustrade, 
which  has  hipped  handrail,  and  three  spiral 
shafted  balusters  to  each  step.  Another 
example  of  the  archway  and  stairs  beyond 
is  to  be  seen  in  the  Earl  of  Plymouth's 
house,  Mount  Street,  designed  by  Mr 
Fairfax  B.  Wade. 

At  Averley,  Glasgow,  Mr  William  Leiper 
has  a  wide  entrance  hall  panelled  in  oak,  a 
barrel  vault  enriched  with  a  trellis-work  of 
floral  garlands  in  plaster,  springing  from  the 
projecting  carved  cornice.  The  staircase 
lobby  is  seen  through  an  arch,  the  soffit 
in  carved  oak,  supported  by  two  Ionic 
pillars  standing  on  square  panelled  bases 
connected  with  the  wall  panelling.  Three 
arches  supported  on  two  slender  pillars 
are  seen  in  the  distance,  the  stairs  skirting 
the  wall,  the  sides  being  panelled  to  the 
ground.  Above  the  string  are  panels  with 
mouldings  supporting  short  turned  balusters 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  203 

and  a  handrail.  The  lower  part  of  a  large 
window  over  the  second  flight  is  seen 
through  the  middle  arch. 

Many  examples  might  be  cited  of  how  an 
otherwise  commonplace  staircase  has  been 
made  interesting  by  some  added  fittings. 
For  instance,  in  a  house  in  Upper  Berkeley 
Street  Mr  Walter  Cave  had  to  deal  with 
ordinary  straight  flight  at  the  end  of  a 
narrow  corridor.  He  placed  across  the 
bottom  of  the  stairs  two  arches  in  carved 
wood,  supported  by  a  square  pillar  and  two 
engaged  pillars.  The  arch  facing  the  door- 
way was  filled  at  the  base  with  a  balustrade, 
the  handrail  rising  into  swans'  necks  at  each 
end,  the  balusters  having  turned  shafts  and 
round  caps  and  bases.  Through  the 
archway,  at  right  angles  to  the  hall,  a 
platform  step  was  placed,  the  stairs,  with 
plain  square  newel  carried  above  the  hand- 
rail, leading  up  from  this. 

At  the  Marlborough  Chambers,  Jermyn 
Street,  Mr  Reginald  Morphew  has  placed 
in  a  panelled  hall  and  stair  well  a  very 
quaint  stair.  The  newels  are  square,  quite 
plain,  carried  up  nearly  to  the  ceiling  and 
provided  with  flat  board  capitals.  A  square 
handrail  is  supported  by  broad  flat  boards, 


204  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

with  heart-shaped  piercing  near  the  top, 
placed  alternately  with  pairs  of  square  rails. 
Somewhat  akin  to  this  is  Mr  E.  Guy 
Dawber's  staircase  in  a  house  in  Hollycroft 
Avenue,  Hampstead.  Here  the  end  of  the 
straight  flight  is  barred  by  a  plain  balustrade 
standing  on  a  panelled  base,  the  newel 
carried  above  the  handrail  is  square  with 
an  anvil  -  shaped  terminal.  The  stair 
entrance  is  turned  at  right  angles  to  the 
flight,  the  second  square  newel  is  carried 
up  to  the  ceiling.  The  string  is  a  broad 
plank,  with  top  and  bottom  raised  moulding, 
carried  well  above  the  steps,  while  the 
balusters  are  broad,  flat  slats  placed 
between  pairs  of  square  rods.  A  house 
on  the  Hampstead  Garden  Estate,  de- 
signed by  Mr  Michael  Bunney  and  Mr 
C.  C.  Makins  has  a  balustrade  composed 
of  a  handrail  with  rounded  top  and  sides 
decorated  with  mouldings,  fairly  broad  flat 
balusters  and  round  topped  intermediate 
newels,  while  on  the  open  balustraded 
landing  the  newels,  somewhat  elaborately 
turned,  are  carried  up  to  support  a  ceiling 
beam,  decorated  with  small  drop  pendants 
and  wall  brackets.  A  landing  designed  by 
Mr  C.  F.  X.  Voysey  at  Chorley  Wood  is 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE         205 

enclosed   in   a    kind    of   cage    formed    by 
vertical  slats. 

Quite  a  useful  and  artistic  handling  of  a 
screen  is  seen  on  the  Mr  Geoffrey  Lucas's 
Jacobean  staircase  at  Padwell  Lodge,  near 
Baldock,  Herts.  It  is  placed  at  the  end  of 
a  small  landing  reached  by  three  steps,  and 
shuts  off  the  stairs  from  the  adjoining 
entrance  door.  It  consists  of  a  panel 
formed  of  a  frame  containing  two  rows  of 
balusters,  one  on  the  top  of  the  other,  with 
a  horizontal  bar  between. 

At  Batsford,  designed  by  Mr  Ernest 
George,  the  long,  easy  flights  of  the  stair- 
case and  galleried  landings,  are  seen 
through  the  arcaded  walls  of  the  hall. 
Describing  Mr  E.  L.  Lutyen's  work  at 
Little  Thakeham,  Mr  Davison  says : 
"  The  stairs  are  so  arranged  that  they 
give  on  to  a  landing  looking  down  and 
across  the  hall,  and  from  the  landing  the 
main  upstairs  corridor  is  revealed.  The 
corridor  is  crossed  with  stone  arches  at 
intervals,  and  a  door  opening  from  it  gives 
access  to  a  balcony  overlooking  the  hall 
fireplace,  so  that  one  may  come  out  and 
look  down  on  the  hall  from  above."  It  is 
a    very   picturesque   and   favourite   device, 


206  STAIRCASES  AND  GAREEN  STEPS 

well  suited  to  a  country  house,  and  seen  in 
endless  variations.  At  Redisham  Hall, 
Eccles,  Suffolk,  Mr  H.  M.  Fletcher  pro- 
vided an  arcaded  gallery  above  the  hall, 
reached  by  a  flight  of  stairs  partly  in  the 
hall  and  partly  under  the  arcaded  landing. 
At  Kilbowie,  Maidenhead,  Berkshire,  Mr 
W.  Dunn  and  Mr  R.  Watson  designed  a 
hall,  out  of  which  the  main  staircase  leads, 
two  storeys  high,  with  corbelled  balustrade 
gallery  down  one  side,  giving  access  to  the 
bedrooms. 

Quite  a  different  arrangement  of  galleried 
landing  was  adapted  by  Mr  Horace  Field 
for  his  staircase  at  Hookerel,  Woking, 
Surrey.  There  is  a  quite  short  flight,  with 
plain  balustrade,  passing  through  an  arch- 
way to  an  arched  landing.  A  second  arch 
is  fitted  with  a  corbelled  balustraded  balcony, 
placed  over  another  arched  entrance. 

Even  more  thorough  in  treatment  is  Mr 
Sydney  D.  Kitson's  two-storeyed  hall  at 
the  Red  House,  Chapel  Allerton,  Leeds. 
The  staircase  is  entered  through  an  arch- 
way, a  straight  flight  leading  to  a  half-way 
landing,  then  branching  right  and  left  to 
the  open,  cantilevered  gallery,  the  stair-head 
being  adorned  with  two  columns  and  two 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  20/ 

pilasters  supporting  the  heavy  decorated 
cornice  which  runs  round  the  gallery  and 
separates  it  from  the  soffit  of  the  staircase 
well.  Arched  doorways  open  on  to  corridors 
serving  the  upper  storey.  Twelve  square 
dwarf  pillars  are  used  to  strengthen  the  balus- 
trade, composed  of  turned  balusters  and  a 
handrail,  hipped  on  each  side  of  the  pillars. 

Of  modern  work  in  the  classic  style  a 
rather  fine  specimen  is  to  be  seen  at  Heath- 
cote,  Ilkley,  designed  by  Mr  Edwin  L. 
Lutyens.  The  staircase  vestibule  is  divided 
from  the  large  main  hall  by  tall  fluted 
Corinthian  columns  of  green  Siberian 
marble.  White  and  fleur  de  piche  marbles 
are  used  for  the  paving,  the  walls  are  of 
cream  coloured  Ancaster  stone  and  the 
steps  of  black  marble,  while  the  balustrade 
is  of  wrought  iron,  slightly  foliated  scrolls 
alternating  with  straight  bars  ornamented 
with  rings.  The  handrail  is  rather  curiously 
hipped  and  decorated  with  awkward,  ineffec- 
tive covered  vases.  Three  fluted  columns 
are  placed  at  the  open  first  floor  landing, 
and  the  walls  of  the  staircase  well  bear 
fluted  pilasters,  above  which  is  a  heavy 
cornice,  then  a  flat  frieze  with  the  ceiling 
cornice  above. 


208  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

While  a  modified  form  of  the  Georgian 
has  found  favour  of  late,  it  is  evident  that 
the  Jacobean  makes  special  appeal  to  the 
builders  of  country  houses.  Some  examples 
may  be  given.  At  Ewelme  Down,  Walling- 
ford,  Berkshire,  a  roomy  hall  has  a  low 
ceiling  of  white  plaster,  crossed  by  numerous 
oak  beams,  forming  panels  of  different  sizes. 
The  walls  are  also  panelled  in  oak.  In  a 
lobby  adjoining  this  hall  the  stairs  are 
carried  up  in  long,  easy  flights.  In  place 
of  a  starting  newel  there  is  a  large  square 
fluted  column  reaching  to  the  ceiling.  Four 
broad  steps  forming  the  commencement  of 
the  stairs  are  carried  across  the  end  of  the 
hall,  the  top  one  forming  a  platform  to  a 
kind  of  alcove.  That  part  of  the  lobby 
which  is  not  stepped  is  cut  off  from  the 
hall  by  a  balustrade.  At  Huntercombe 
Place,  Oxon,  Mr  O.  P.  Milne  makes  liberal 
use  of  large  square  newels,  with  curiously 
carved  finials,  carried  high  above  the  hand- 
rail. From  the  end  of  an  arched  hall  at 
East  Weald,  Hampstead,  Mr  H.  V.  Ashley 
and  Mr  Winton  Newman,  carry  a  broad 
flight  to  a  midway  landing,  and  then  with 
right  and  left  flights  to  the  upper  landing. 
The    interesting   feature    here   is   that   the 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE         209 

three  lower  steps  are  free,  with  rounded 
ends.  Then  the  balustrade  starts  with 
square  newels,  having  faceted  ball  finials. 
There  are  two  clusters  of  three  newels  to 
the  turning  on  the  half  landing,  decorated 
towards  the  top  with  lozenges  in  sunken 
panels ;  the  balusters  are  turned,  the 
shafts  having  a  series  of  rings. 

While  woodwork  is  sometimes  enamelled 
in  colour  or  varnished,  it  is  more  often  left 
plain  or  with  a  simple  polish.  In  the  same 
way  we  find  the  use  of  stucco,  but  in  many 
houses  plain  bricks  are  left  bare,  even  used 
in  combination  with  dressed  stone  and  fine 
woods.  Mr  A.  Winter  Rose's  early 
Georgian  houses,  Marrowells,  Oatlands 
Chase,  Walton -on- Thames,  affords  an 
instance  of  this  latter  treatment.  A  plain 
balustrading  is  used  for  the  staircase,  but 
is  dignified  by  fine  wooden  columns,  placed 
however,  on  plain  brick  piers.  Our  illus- 
tration shows  the  first  floor  landing.  On 
the  right  is  the  curious  open  arched  fireplace 
shown  on  the  plate  facing  page  172  of 
11  Chimneypieces  and  Ingle-nooks,"  the  pre- 
ceding volume  of  this  series.  At  Redlands, 
Wimbledon,  designed  by  William  and  Edward 
Hunt,  free  use  is  made  of  hand-made  bricks, 


210  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

distempered  plaster  and  Suffolk  oak,  wax 
polished.  The  staircase,  leading  out  of  a 
hall  with  cross-beamed  ceiling,  low  arched 
fireplace  of  brick,  is  not  panelled,  but  has 
an  open  Jacobean  balustrade,  with  tall 
newels,  placed  on  either  side  against  the 
walls.  It  is  entered  under  an  archway. 
The  arch,  formed  of  four  stepped  courses 
in  wedge-shaped  strips,  alternately  of  plain 
plaster  and  red  bricks,  springs  from  two 
piers  of  plastered  brickwork,  with  brick 
capitals.  A  still  freer  use  of  brick  is  seen 
in  a  staircase  by  Mr  Lutyens  at  Barton 
St  Mary,  East  Grinstead,  Sussex.  Here 
the  stairs  are  carried  up  without  balustrade 
between  plastered  walls.  The  steps  are 
of  plain  brick,  placed  flat  for  the  treads, 
and  on  end  for  the  risers.  There  are  no 
nosings  to  the  steps,  and  the  ceiling  is  a 
brick  vaulting. 

This  treatment  of  brick  in  combination 
with  more  costly  materials  is  not  without 
precedent.  At  the  16th  century  Chateau 
de  St  Germain-en-Laye,  France,  built  by 
Androuet  du  Cerceau  and  restored  by  E. 
Millet,  the  stone  stepped  stairs  are  carried 
up  between  walls,  under  a  barrel  vaulted 
soffit  of  brickwork,  strengthened  at  intervals 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE  211 

by  broad  hoops  of  stone.  There  are  brick 
pilasters  between  the  tall  windows  and 
also  on  the  inner  wall.  A  Dutch  16th 
century  staircase,  in  the  chancellery  at  Leeu- 
warden,  is  treated  much  in  the  same  way, 
the  stairs  being  under  a  brick  barrel  vault, 
but  ornamented  with  tracery  and  pendants, 
while  corbel  brackets  support  the  vaulting. 

In  staircases  of  American  public  build- 
ings the  influence  of  the  later  Italian 
Renaissance  and  of  Palladio  is  apparent, 
with  perhaps  too  assertive  a  use  of  the 
stepped  parapet.  In  domestic  " Colonial" 
architecture,  the  staircases,  generally  of 
wood,  are  well  planned,  with  broad  and 
easy  steps  with  good,  fairly  plain  balustrades. 
Very  effective  use  is  often  made  of  the 
dextral  and  sinistral  spirals  for  alternate 
balusters,  with  frequent  variations  in  the 
gauge  of  the  thread.  Screens  for  stair  ends 
and  landings  are  also  largely  resorted  to. 
There  is,  of  course,  a  considerable  amount 
of  imitative  work.  "  Colonial "  is  Georgian, 
but  at  its  best,  modified  both  as  regards 
design  and  the  employment  of  local 
materials,  such  as  cedar  and  cypress  woods, 
and  excellent  combinations  of  stones  and 
tiles.     Then  we  have  such  eccentricities  as 


212   STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

an  adaptation  of  Japanese  bamboo  joinery 
for  a  spacious  staircase  at  Falls  River, 
Massachusetts.  But  there  is  also  much 
original  planning.  Take  as  an  example  a 
house  designed  by  Mr  Frank  Lloyd  Wright, 
overlooking  the  lake  at  Racine,  Wisconsin. 
In  a  description  of  this  by  Mr  C.  E. 
Percival  we  are  told  that  on  the  street 
side  it  is  a  two-storey  and  basement 
house,  but  on  the  lake  side  it  becomes  a 
full  three-storey  house.  "  From  the  en- 
trance hall,  whose  floor  is  on  the  level 
of  the  side  walk,  the  visitor  ascends  a 
short  flight  of  steps,  on  either  side  of 
the  chimneypiece,  into  the  living  room, 
the  heart  and  centre  of  the  house,  two 
storeys  high,  and  measuring  18  ft.  by  20 
feet.  Here  he  is  confronted  by  a  broad 
expanse  of  tall  windows,  giving  a  compre- 
hensive view  of  the  ever-changing  lake. 
Facing  them  is  the  big  fireplace  (in  red 
brick),  on  either  side  of  which  are  the  stairs 
that  lead  up  from  the  hall,  and  the  stairs 
that  lead  on  to  the  second  storey,  where 
the  landing  expands  into  a  balcony  over  the 
fireplace."  This  is  altogether  a  delightful 
treatment,  where  we  find  novelty,  pictur- 
esqueness  and  compactness  all  combined. 


t  \>    >       >  > 


PRESENT  DAY  PRACTICE         213 

A  development  that  has  taken  place  of 
late  years,  practically  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  is  the  enlisting  of  reinforced  concrete 
for  staircase  building.  The  flexibility  of 
the  system,  the  rigidity  of  the  completed 
structure,  its  lightness,  its  fire -resisting 
qualities,  and  the  economy  of  space  and 
material  have  secured  for  it  wide  recognition 
in  this  direction.  Evidence  of  the  rapidity 
with  which  construction  can  be  accomplished 
is  furnished  by  the  two  outside  staircases 
built  at  the  Crystal  Palace  for  the  Festival 
of  Empire  in  191 1.  They  are  both  L 
shaped,  placed  some  distance  apart,  and 
reversed.  They  lead  from  the  main  floor 
to  the  terrace,  a  height  of  32  ft.  6  ins.  The 
upper  limbs  are  75  ft.  long  by  24  ft.  wide 
over  the  balustrading,  and  the  lower  limbs 
83  ft.  long  by  21  ft.  4  ins.  wide.  The 
whole  is  of  reinforced  concrete,  except  the 
balustrading,  which  is  of  moulded  concrete. 
The  steps,  without  nosing,  and  with  very 
low  risers,  are  14  ins.  deep.  The  flights  are 
carried  on  arches  supported  by  piers  of 
varying  dimensions.  A  notable  point  is 
that  these  structures  were  begun  on 
February  16th,  the  concreting  was  com- 
pleted by  April   13th,  and  the  stairs  open 


214  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

to  the  public  on  May  12th.  Staircases  in 
reinforced  concrete  of  considerable  import- 
ance have  been  built  at  the  new  General 
Post  Office,  London ;  at  Evans',  Oxford 
Street,  where  Mr  J.  Murray  built  a  straight 
flight  of  broad  steps,  the  lower  ones  with 
rounded  ends,  leading  to  a  half-way  landing, 
and  then  taking  a  circular  sweep  right  and 
left  to  the  main  landing.  It  is  wonderfully 
light  and  elegant.  There  appears  to  be  every 
prospect  of  this  type  of  building  coming  into 
more  general  use  for  stair  building.  From 
the  artistic  point  of  view  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  concrete  itself  is  capable  of 
a  measure  of  decorative  treatment,  and, 
moreover,  such  structures  can  be  encased 
in  any  description  of  material. 


CHAPTER  XII 

GARDEN   STEPS 

Two  things  are  requisite  in  gardens  :  they 
must   furnish   an   appropriate   framing,    de- 
signed   to    accentuate    such    characteristic 
features  as  a  house  may  possess,  and  also 
agreeable  surroundings  amidst  which  hosts 
and  friends  may  take  their  ease.     Now,  the 
nature  of  such  frame  should  depend  upon 
the  style  of  the   house  ;   the  more  formal 
the  architecture,  the  greater  the  need  for 
an  approximating  formality  of  setting.     On 
the  other  hand,  in  order  to  secure  the  fullest 
measure  of  enjoyment  from  a  garden  there 
must  be  diversity ;  a  predominant  privacy, 
cosy  nooks  suggestive  -of  out-of-door  apart- 
ments,  of  course,  but   added  to  this  some 
vantage  ground   whence   prospects   of  the 
outer  world  may  be  obtained. 

Clearly,   therefore,    whatever   the  nature 
215 


2i6  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

of  the  immediate  setting,  whatever  system 
be  adopted  in  planning  the  pleasaunce,  a 
judicious  use  of  steps  will  always  add  charm, 
whether  these  be  required  to  link  up 
different  sections  on  varying  levels,  or, 
equally  important,  serving  to  provide  those 
contrasts  of  high  and  low  planes  so 
necessary  for  the  satisfaction  of  eye  and 
imagination. 

Italy  is,  beyond  dispute,  the  land  of 
garden  steps ;  for  its  civilization  has  for 
ages  been  associated  with  hilly  country. 
Probably  nowhere  else  has  the  architectonic 
value  of  approach  steps  been  better  appre- 
ciated or  more  splendidly  developed.  Con- 
sider with  what  unerring  art  the  palazzi 
and  casini  crowned  hills  of  Rome,  of 
Florence,  and  a  hundred  and  one  classic 
spots  have  been  scaled,  now  by  attacking 
the  declivity  boldly  with  a  straight  flight, 
like  Jacob's  ladder  ;  now  sweeping  to  right 
and  left,  perhaps  meeting  on  a  terrace  and 
thence  curving  outwards  again ;  making  the 
ascent  sideways,  or  negotiating  steps  in  a 
series  of  zigzags.  How  often  their  clever 
designing,  their  monumental  proportions 
form  a  fitting  introduction  to  the  glories  of 
the  marble  dwelling  and  their  rich  treasures 


GARDEN  STEPS  217 

of  sculpture  and  painting.  Out  of  the  great 
number  of  these  delightful  combinations  we 
may  instance  the  Villas  Colonna  and  Corsini 
at  Rome,  those  of  Aldobrandini  and  Tor- 
lornia  at  Frascati,  the  Palmieri  at  Florence, 
and  quaint  Caprarola  near  Viterbo. 

At  the  Villa  Palmieri  the  garden  approach 
to  the  terrace  is  by  means  of  fine  flights  of 
long  semi-circular  steps,  flanked  by  a  heavy 
balustrade,  its  broad,  flat  handrail  sweeping 
gracefully  over  vase-shaped  balusters,  formed 
into  bays  by  massive  vase-capped  pillars. 

As  for  fantastic  Caprarola,  whose  pen- 
tagonal lines  were  laid  down  by  Antonio 
da  San-Gallo,  but  whose  fine  achievement 
is  due  to  Vignola,  it  is  reached  by  a  double 
stairway,  the  long  course  of  which  is  divided 
by  a  stepped  water  ladder,  ornamental  foun- 
tains being  placed  at  the  head  and  foot. 

Italian  garden-makers,  like  those  of  the 
East,  displayed  great  skill  in  utilising  water 
so  as  to  appeal  both  to  the  eye  and  ear. 
Sometimes  we  have  placid  canals  as  at  the 
Palazzo  d'Este,  wide  expanses  of  pond, 
though  more  often  babbling  waterfalls,  or 
the  musically  splashing  jets  dispersed  by 
sculptured  groups  and  single  figures  into 
the   basins  below.     Others   send  up  their 


2i8  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

filmy  water,  beautifully  iridescent  with 
tender  hues  in  the  sunlight,  then  dissolv- 
ing into  pearly  mists.  At  Caprarola  the 
sun-bathed  guest  slowly  wending  his  way 
up  the  side  stairs,  is  refreshed  by  water  as 
it  tumbles,  softly  murmuring  the  while  on 
its  broken  course  to  the  great  stone  cup 
at  the  foot.  Another  justly  celebrated  com- 
bination is  at  the  Villa  Aldobrandini,  where 
the  stairs  and  central  broad-stepped  cascade 
comes  steeply  down  the  hill  between  avenues 
of  trees,  the  last  vista  effectively  closed  by 
its  notable  architectural  feature.  Hard  by, 
at  the  Villa  Torlonia,  the  fountain  at  the 
stairway  foot  is  served  by  a  semi-circular 
stepped  cascade.  Equally  good  is  the  ar- 
rangement at  the  Villa  Corsini,  with  its 
parapeted  stairway,  stepped  stream  of 
bubbling  water  and  fountains. 

At  Isola  Bella,  where  there  is  a  pretty 
little  al  fresco  theatre  in  the  woods,  having 
a  semi-circular  alcoved  curtain  wall,  with  a 
statue  of  Hercules,  and  three  broad  steps 
leading  up  to  the  stage,  there  are  sets  of 
steps  with  side  water  channels,  this  being  a 
reversal  of  the  usual  arrangement.  Another 
set  of  steps  at  Isola  Bella,  joining  the  upper 
and  lower  parterres,  is  typical  of  a  certain 


o\      >        .  -        > 


•    •  •  ••' 


*  >•       a  »    •   >       ,  »   to»    n    °    O    •     • 


SCALA    SANTA,    ST.    JOHN    LATERAN,    ROME. 


GARDEN  STEPS  219 

trick  of  contrast.  The  upper  three  steps 
are  long  with  oblique  short-sections  at 
each  end.  These  steps  merge  into  the 
slope  and  lead  to  an  oval  platform, 
thence  are  two  outward  steps  with  square 
returns. 

When  Salomon  de  Caus  laid  out  the 
gardens  at  Heidelberg  for  Frederick  V., 
the  Elector  Palatine,  he  contrived  to  build 
many  flights  of  steps,  some  of  them  very 
curious.  Among  these  we  find  plans  of  one 
set  formed  of  two  halves  of  an  ellipse  nearly 
cut  asunder  by  the  retaining  walls.  Here 
the  upper  steps  are  cut  with  an  inward 
curve,  producing  a  concave  appearance, 
the  lower  with  an  outward  reversing 
curve,  the  two  sections  being  joined  to- 
gether by  an  elliptical  platform.  To  add 
to  the  complexity,  the  inspringing  portions 
of  the  retaining  walls  are  stepped  on  a 
giant  scale.  Bordering  the  stairs  are 
stepped  dwarf  parapet  walls,  each  step 
being  hollowed  out  into  a  basin,  and  the 
outer  face  pierced  with  a  round  hole. 
Down  these  inward  and  outward  curving 
walls  a  stream  of  water  danced  from  basin 
to  basin.  It  must  be  confessed  that  this 
Gallic  conceit  lacked  the  natural  elegance 


220  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

of  the  Italian  examples,  giving  indeed  the 
impression  of  ill-spent  ingenuity. 

The  Palazzo  Barberini  which  stands  at 
the  base  of  a  hill  in  the  heart  of  Rome, 
close  to  the  Vatican,  is  approached  by  an 
inclined  plane  leading  to  a  broad  terrace, 
On  the  garden  front,  just  outside  the  col- 
umned portico,  is  a  square  perron,  from 
which  there  are  right  and  left  ascending 
steps,  carried  the  whole  width  of  the  palace 
to  corner  platforms,  whence  other  flights  at 
right  angles  ascend  to  a  series  of  parterres, 
bounded  by  retaining  walls,  with  a  fountain 
facing  the  perron.  Above  this  fountain  a 
terrace  runs,  and  from  this  are  two  long 
flights  of  about  seventy  steps  one  on 
each  side  of  a  sunk  garden,  the  gradually 
rising  walls  of  which  are  adorned  with 
niches  and  grottoes.  On  the  exterior  of 
these  stairs  are  zigzag  inclined  planes. 
Above  these  is  a  terrace,  and  then  a 
smaller  sunk  garden  flanked  by  steps  lead- 
ing up  to  a  broad  terrace,  with  another 
sunk  garden,  square  at  its  base  and  semi- 
circular on  its  upper  end,  surrounded  by  two 
straight  and  then  two  semi-circular  flights 
of  stairs  leading  up  to  a  large  amphitheatre 
with  ornamental  screen  wall. 


GARDEN  STEPS  221 

On  the  garden  front  of  the  Villa  Albani, 
just  outside  the  Salaro  Gate,  Rome,  there 
is  a  magnificent  terrace,  with  two  flights 
running  towards  each  other,  adorned  with 
a  fine  balustrade  and  its  walls  with  niches, 
and  grottoes.  Facing  this,  at  the  other 
end  of  the  long  formal  garden,  is  a  pavilion 
with  semi-circular  portico,  and  from  its 
terraces  are  stairways  to  the  lower  gardens. 
At  the  back  of  this  pavilion  is  a  very  lengthy 
stepped  cascade,  flanked  by  stairways. 

At  the  Villa  Santi,  Bagnaia,  beyond  the 
formal  parterres  are  two  delightful  pavilions, 
right  and  left,  with  flights  of  stairs  bordering 
their  walls  leading  to  a  broad  terrace, 
which  has  a  circular  fountain,  partly  on  its 
upper  level  and  partly  on  a  lower  terrace, 
reached  by  two  stone  stairways.  At  the 
further  end  of  the  terrace  is  another  large 
semi-circular  ornamented  fountain,  fed  and 
stepped  canal,  which  passes  between 
gravelled  paths,  with  an  elaborate  arrange- 
ment of  landings  and  stairs  at  the  farther 
end.  Beyond  this  is  a  sunk  garden 
surrounded  by  a  low  balustrade  and  closing 
the  vista  up  the  hill  another  fountain  with 
cascade,  seen  between  two  small  pavilions 
and  two  ranges  of  steps. 


222  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

Other  equally  elaborate  arrangements  are 
adopted  at  the  Villa  d'Este,  Tivoli,  and 
the  Villa  Negroni,  on  the  Esquiline  Hill, 
Rome. 

While  monumental  stairways,  adorned 
with  balustrades,  balconied  landings,  vases, 
statuary  and  fountains  were  reserved  for 
the  approaches,  grand  terraces  and  for  the 
purpose  of  linking  up  and  embellishing 
the  formal  parts  of  gardens,  rustic  steps 
in  many  styles  were  reserved  for  the  outer, 
more  wooded  sections.  It  was  in  these 
wilder  parts  of  the  domains  that  sundry 
variations  of  the  scala  cordonata  appeared. 
The  commonest  form  is  that  of  a  baulk  of 
timber,  a  board,  or  more  or  less  roughly 
dressed  stones  sunk  in  the  ground  like  a 
retaining  wall,  the  ground  above  being 
sloped  gently  to  the  next  corded  course. 
Sometimes  these  long,  deep  sloping  steps 
were  turfed,  at  others  gravelled,  and 
occasionally  even  paved.  When  the  path 
is  very  steep,  the  corded  course  instead 
of  running  at  right  angles  across  is  carried 
obliquely,  from  right  to  left  and  then  left 
to  right,  thus  forming  a  zigzag.  In  its 
turfed  form  this  was  a  favourite  kind  of 
stepped  path  with  the  old  French  gardeners. 


GARDEN  STEPS  223 

Le  Blond  and  Le  N8tre  were  fond  of  placing 
them  on  either  side  of  a  cascaded  canal. 

Memories  of  how  well  such  simple  "corded 
ways "  may  be  varied  to  surmount  diffi- 
culties, and  at  the  same  time  add  the  charms 
of  the  unexpected,  cluster  round  that 
wonderful  rock  garden  of  Dr.  Bennet,  just 
on  the  Italian  side  of  the  deep  gorge  that 
marks  the  eastern  extremity  of  Mentone. 
It  was  patiently  built  up  on  the  steep  face 
of  a  rugged  grey  rock,  scarred  by  pockets 
of  red  clay.  Winding  from  pocket  to 
pocket,  from  terrace  to  terrace  were  stairs 
cut  in  the  solid  mountain  side,  serpentine 
paths  and  corded  ways  with  steps  in  endless 
form  leading  on  to  patches  aglow  with  semi- 
tropical  cacti,  creepers  and  palms,  almost 
mingling  with  Alpine  treasures  hiding  in 
cavernous  shades,  while  precious  water 
(brought  in  an  aqueduct  from  high  up 
the  valley),  trickled  in  a  circuitous  stream, 
now  and  again  widening  out  into  lily-covered 
maidenhair-bordered  ponds. 

It  is  in  this  spirit  that  the  old-time 
builders  of  Italy  used  steps  in  their  gardens, 
introducing  modifications  in  accordance  with 
local  conditions  so  that  in  one  small  domain 
you  pass  from  the  highest   efforts  of  art, 


224  STAIRCASES  AND  GAREEN  STEPS 

the  majestic  flights,  to  the  most  primitive 
of  ladder  paths  with  the  feeling  of  fitness. 

In  France  greater  formality  prevailed. 
We  do  not  find  anything  quite  to  equal 
those  splendours  of  the  Renaissance  builders 
in  the  Peninsula,  but  a  very  effective  use 
of  terraces  with  fine  stair  approaches. 
Perrons,  those  spacious  terrace  landings 
with  flanking  grand  external  stairways,  were 
early  made  special  features  of  Renaissance 
chateaux  throughout  the  provinces,  and 
the  fashion  has  remained  down  to  our  own 
time.  Apart  from  these  terraces,  from 
the  1 6th  century  to  the  18th  century,  a 
good  deal  of  rather  pretentious  garden  step 
building  was  indulged  in.  We  have  already 
mentioned  de  Caus,  and  those  better  known 
masters,  Le  Blond  and  Le  N6tre,  both  of 
whose  influence  was  felt  far  afield,  in 
Germany,  England,  and  even  Russia. 

Le  Notre  designed  notable  garden  steps 
for  many  of  the  Royal  Palaces.  He  was 
fond  of  making  them  monumental,  forming 
great  bastioned  platforms  in  connection 
with  the  retaining  walls,  massing  together 
blocks  of  rusticated  masonry,  bowed  terrace 
landings,  sloping  parapets,  or  pillared 
balustrades,   and    on    occasion    introducing 


GARDEN  STEPS  225 

* 
sculpture  and  statuary.     One  of  his  stairs 

in  the  Tuileries  Gardens  had  five  steps 
up  to  a  platform,  then  two  flights  to  right 
and  left  of  six  steps  each  to  lower  landings 
with  return  flights  of  six  steps  to  a  second 
central  platform,  overlooked  from  the 
parapet  of  the  first.  From  here  six  right 
angled  steps,  arranged  in  pyramidal  form 
(the  base  of  the  set  being  greater  in  all 
directions  than  the  apex,  or  top  step),  led 
to  the  lower  garden.  This  plan  of  di- 
minishing angled  steps  was  constantly 
adopted  by  him.  There  was  yet  another 
example  in  the  Tuileries,  where  he  placed 
his  steps  in  a  bastioned  portion  of  the  wall. 
There  right  and  left  flights  protected  on 
the  outside  by  wing  parapets  led  to  a 
platform,  the  back  wall  being  handsomely 
panelled.  The  oblong  platform  was  reached 
from  below  by  eight  angled  diminishing 
steps.  Now,  if  Italian  garden  architects 
had  gone  to  the  trouble  of  building  such 
fine  sets  of  steps  they  would  not  have  failed 
to  place  equally  imposing  fountains  either 
recessed  in  alcoves  contrived  in  the  walls 
at  the  back  of  the  platform,  or  projecting 
therefrom.  In  this  particular  our  ancestors 
frequently  imitated  them  quite  successfully. 


226  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

Alexandre*  Le  Blond  like  Le  Notre  was 
addicted  to  grandiose  designs,  but  he 
condescended  to  introduce  delightful  little 
oddities,  such  as  steps  placed  at  angles  of 
terraces.  One  of  these  plans  of  his  com- 
prised two  flights  of  eight  steps  at  right 
angles  descending  to  an  octangular  landing, 
thence  eight  steps  showing  five  sides  of  an 
octangle  led  down  to  the  garden.  In 
another  instance  he  had  a  triangular  pillar 
with  rounded  base  on  the  terrace,  on  either 
side  of  which  were  straight  flights  to  a 
square  landing,  placed  diamondwise,  with 
right  angled  steps  to  the  lower  garden. 
For  central  positions  he  adopted  the  more 
or  less  circular  form,  individualised  by  such 
quaint  variations  as  the  following.  On  an 
upper  terrace  he  had  four  massive  wedge 
shaped  pillars,  and  between  them  three 
flights  of  curved  steps  on  the  convex  plan, 
leading  to  a  circular  landing,  and  then  four 
semi-circular  steps  to  the  garden.  In 
another  instance  he  had  a  screen  wall  on 
the  upper  terrace,  right  and  left  curved 
flights  of  steps  enclosing  a  curiously  shaped 
basin  with  a  fountain  against  the  wall.  Le 
Blond  was  a  great  believer  in  water  stairs, 
which    he    placed    on    declivities   between 


;  ;»  .  .    . 


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STAIRCASE    LANDING,    BY    MR.    A.    WINTER    ROSE. 


GARDEN  STEPS  227 

regular  flights  of  steps,  or  commonly 
between  zigzag  paths  when  the  incline  was 
moderate.  He  liked  to  have  these  latter 
stepped  paths  closely  turfed,  which  pro- 
duced a  fine  contrast  with  the  parapet  of 
the  canal  and  foaming  water.  In  one  plan 
which  he  gives  we  find  an  effective  com- 
bination, a  zigzag  path  being  placed  on 
either  side  of  a  monumental  fountain, 
leading  to  two  series  of  ten  flights  of  four 
steps  each  separated  by  broad  landings,  the 
water  stairs  running  in  the  centre. 

Many  English  gardens  are  noted  for 
their  fine  terraces,  steps,  gateways  and 
fountains,  often  grouped  in  splendid 
style. 

At  Bowood,  Wiltshire,  the  extensive 
grounds  are  embellished  with  a  great 
diversity  of  stairs,  some  passing  down 
between  plain  dwarf  parapets,  in  others 
the  parapets  themselves  are  stepped. 
Marking  the  termination  of  the  wide 
central  path  on  the  terrace  leading  from 
the  garden  porch  to  the  house  is  a  double 
flight  of  curved  steps,  enclosing  a  mural 
fountain,  high  backed  with  sculptured 
group,  and  a  screen  of  hedges  and  trees 
in  the  rear ;  while  from  the  high  terrace  at 


228  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

the  Garden  House  end  is  a  side  flight  with 
a  parapet  wall,  which  looks  very  well. 

Chatsworth  presents  much  that  is  inter- 
esting. From  the  terrace  in  front  of  the 
house,  and  overlooking  the  lawns  with  their 
groups  of  statuary,  elaborate  flights  of  long 
steps  are  protected  by  handsome  wrought 
iron  balustrades.  Then  there  are  the  two 
long,  broad  flights,  with  intermediate  plat- 
forms, leading  up  between  groups  of 
statuary  on  pedestals  to  a  Grecian  temple 
closing  the  splendid  avenue. 

Wrought  iron  balustrades  are  not  often 
used  in  connection  with  garden  steps  in 
England,  even  when  these  connect  the 
house  terrace  with  the  lawns  or  formal 
parterres.  The  exceptions  are  usually 
found  associated  with  outside  stairs.  Such 
is  the  very  beautiful  example  at  Drayton 
House,  Thrapston,  where  the  steps  from 
the  house  to  the  garden  have  balustrades 
with  square  panels  of  slightly  foliated 
strapwork.  As  a  rule  stone  balustrades  or 
parapet  walls  are  preferred. 

One  of  the  most  admirable  groupings  of 
screen  walls,  gates,  terrace,  steps  and 
fountain  is  to  be  seen  at  Holland  House, 
Kensington.       It    is    due    to    the   skill   of 


GARDEN  STEPS  229 

Nicholas  Stone,  working  to  the  designs  of 
Inigo  Jones,  and  marks  the  division  of  the 
upper  from  the  lower  garden.  Behind  the 
terrace,  with  low  parapet,  is  a  pierced  screen 
wall,  formed  of  moulded  octagons,  so  placed 
as  to  leave  smaller  octagon  openings.  A 
heavy  cornice  crowns  it.  At  the  entrance 
from  the  upper  garden  to  the  terrace  are 
two  pillars,  adorned  with  arched  alcoves 
between  two  slender  columns  supporting 
large  pediments  crowning  the  whole,  decor- 
ated with  prominent  mouldings.  Facing 
this  gateway  are  right  and  left  flights  of 
steps,  turning  outwards  and  parallel  to  the 
retaining  wall,  protected  by  open-work 
balustrades,  ending  in  large  square  rustic- 
ated dwarf  pillars.  Against  the  wall, 
between  the  two  flights,  is  a  wide  arch  with 
fountain  and  a  basin  jutting  out.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  rustication  of 
the  pillars  is  practically  similar  to  that 
adopted  for  the  wood  balustrade  of  the 
grand  staircase  in  the  mansion  which,  by 
the  way,  had  a  wide  balustraded  terrace  on 
the  main  front,  approached  by  a  flight 
of  wide  low  steps.  From  this  terrace 
a  second  flight  led  up  to  the  entrance 
porch. 
Q 


230  STAIRCASES  AND  GARDEN  STEPS 

Other  typical  examples  may  be  cited.  At 
Tissington  Hall,  Derbyshire,  the  gardens 
are  laid  out  in  terraces,  with  masonry 
retaining  walls.  These  terraces  are  con- 
nected by  means  of  numerous  sets  of  steps, 
some  placed  at  the  ends,  others  in  the 
middle  of  the  terraces.  Some  of  these  are 
parallel  to  the  walls  and  without  parapets  or 
balustrades.  Others  are  placed  at  right 
angles,  between  low  parapets  ending  in 
pillars  bearing  vases.  These  are  quite 
unassuming  both  as  regards  dimensions  and 
design,  but  nevertheless  have  a  distinct 
artistic  as  well  as  a  utilitarian  value. 
Derbyshire,  by  the  way,  provides  many 
excellent  examples  of  garden  steps,  some  of 
these  built  in  triangular  pyramidal  form  in 
the  angles  of  terraces.  We  have  seen  there 
a  recent  combination  of  two  forms  of  semi- 
circular steps,  those  giving  access  to  the 
terrace  forming  a  crescent  hollow,  just  above 
them  reaching  to  the  entrance  porch  the 
reverse  is  presented,  the  outward  curving 
steps  being  of  the  retreating  order. 

At  Ingestre  Hall,  Staffordshire,  the  long 
terrace,  consists  of  sets  of  seven  stone  steps 
with  low  parapet  walls,  interspersed  by  long 
stretches   of  gravel  path,  passing  between 


GARDEN  STEPS  231 

grass  plats,  arches  of  yew  bridging  the 
avenue  at  frequent  intervals. 

Brick  is  in  many  surroundings  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  stone  for  this  branch  of  stair 
building,  as  may  be  realised  on  studying 
the  semi-circular  flights  at  Packwood, 
Warwickshire,  with  the  pillar  terminations 
crowned  by  vases. 

In  this,  as  in  other  matters,  the  great  art 
is  to  adopt  suitable  materials  and  designs  for 
the  special  surroundings. 


GLOSSARY 

ABACUS,  the  top  part  of  a  baluster. 

Balanced  Step,  see  Step. 

Balustrade,  the  vertical  protection  on  flights, 
including  the  handrail,  balusters ■,  or  rods,  and 
newels,  or  starting  and  intermediate  posts. 
A  framed  balustrade  is  filled  in  with  panels 
in  place  of  balusters. 

BALUSTERS,  the  vertical  rods  or  panels  between 
the  step  and  the  handrail.  Bracket  balusters 
are  those  carried  outside  the  steps,  and 
fastened  to  the  string  by  means  of  a  pro- 
jecting bracket. 

Box,  or  Boxed  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Brackets,  ornamental  pieces  resting  on  the 
string  and  supporting  the  steps. 

Bulnosed,  see  Step. 

Circular  Staircases,  see  Spirals. 

Closed  Newel  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Cockle  Stair,  from  the  Latin  Cochlea,  a  spiral 
staircase. 

COLUMNATED  Window  STAIRS,  have  steps  set 
on  columns,  so  as  to  permit  light  to  come  in 
from  all  sides. 

233 


234  GLOSSARY 

Commode,  see  Step. 

u  Corded  *  Way  or  Steps,  see  Scala  Cordonata. 

Curtail  Step,  see  Step. 

Dancing  Step,  see  Step. 

Dog-Legged,  see  Stairs. 

Escalier  a  Jour.  A  French  term  applied  to 
stairs  placed  in  turrets  with  open  galleries, 
or  in  open  cages. 

Flight,  a  succession  of  steps,  without  interrup- 
tion of  landing.  A  flight  may  be  straight, 
direct  from  one  point  to  another ;  square, 
winding  round  a  square  newel  or  well  ; 
triangular,  winding  round  a  triangular  newel 
or  well. 

Fliers,  see  Step. 

Geometrical  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Grees  (from  the  French  digrh,  steps),  a  term 
applied  to  dimishing  steps  rising  gradually, 
one  above  the  other,  the  lower  occupying  on 
plan  the  greater  area. 

Half-Turn  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Handrail,  see  Balustrade. 

Hanging  Step,  see  Step. 

Helical  Staircase,  see  Spiral  Staircase. 

Hipping,  curving  the  handrail  to  adjust  differ- 
ences of  level.  The  same  as  swan-neck.  See 
also  Ramp. 

Inclined  Planes  may  be  straight  (when  they 
are  sometimes  termed  ramps,  q.v.)  or  wind- 


GLOSSARY  235 

ing,  and  may  be  used  inside  or  outside  of 
buildings.  Sometimes  they  are  stepped,  see 
Scala  Cordonata.  Many  stairs  are  based  on 
inclined  planes,  especially  the  spirals  of  the 
middle  period. 

Landings  are  platforms  connecting  the  stairs 
with  each  floor,  and  are  known  as  1st  or  2nd 
floor  landings,  or  where  there  is  only  one,  as 
the  head  or  starting  landing.  Half-way 
landings  are  placed  midway  in  straight  flights 
to  ease  the  ascent,  or  at  the  turn  of  winding 
stairs  to  afford  resting-places  and  to  ease 
or  avoid  curves. 

Newel,  the  starting  post,  or  post  placed  between 
two  flights.  A  clustered  newel  is  formed  of 
several  balusters  grouped  into  a  circle,  square, 
or  other  form.  A  continued  or  continuous 
newel  is  one  which  is  carried  up  as  a  pillar 
to  support  the  upper  flights,  landings,  or 
soffits.  The  term  close  or  closed  newel  is 
applied  to  a  central  shaft.  A  hollow  newel  is 
one  of  cylindrical  formation.  The  term  open 
newel  is  applied  to  a  newel  stair  built  round 
a  well-hole. 

NOSING,  the  edge  of  a  tread  projecting  over  the 
riser.  Return  nosing,  the  edge  of  the  tread 
projecting  over  the  string. 

One  Turn  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Open  Newel  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Perron  (French).  A  balustraded  landing  to  an 
outside  staircase. 


236  GLOSSARY 

Pitch,  the  relation  between  the  riser  and  the 
tread,  which  determines  the  steepness  and 
ease  of  the  stairs. 

Plinth,  the  base  of  a  baluster  or  newel. 

Quarter  Turn  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Ramp  (i)  The  handrail,  from  the  French,  but 
usually  applied  to  an  easing  or  hipping,  where 
levels  have  to  be  adjusted.  If  this  easing  in 
place  of  having  an  upward  trend  has  a  down- 
ward dip,  it  is  termed  a  knee.  A  swan-neck 
is  a  combination  of  the  ramp  and  the  knee. 
(2)  An  inclined  plane. 

Risers,  see  Step. 

SCALA  CORDONATA,  or  a  Cordini  (Italian).  In- 
clined plane  with  very  deep  sloping  steps, 
either  paved  or  unpaved,  marked  by  wood  or 
stone  risers. 

SCREW  Stairs,  see  Stairs  and  Spiral  Stairs. 

Scroll  Step,  see  Step. 

Spandrel  Frame,  panels  sometimes  introduced 
between  the  string  and  the  floor. 

Spandrel  Step,  see  Step. 

Square  Step,  see  Step. 

Spiral  Staircases  are  those  whose  steps  rise  in 
screw  form,  either  round  the  walls  of  a  well 
and  having  an  open  centre,  or  round  a  central 
shaft.  They  may  be  circular,  elliptical,  ovoid, 
triangular,  or  square.  They  may  have  a  right 
{dextrat),  or  left  {sinistral)  turn. 


GLOSSARY  237 

STAIRCASE,  that  part  of  a  building  set  apart  for 
the  stairs.  Generally  understood  to  comprise 
the  steps,  balustrade,  and  the  well. 

STAIRS,  a  combination  of  steps.  Straight  stairs 
are  carried  direct  from  point  to  point. 
Turning  stairs  change  their  direction  in  the 
course  of  ascent.  They  are  divided  into 
(1)  quarter  turn,  (2)  half  turn,  (3)  three- 
quarter  turn,  (4)  one  turn,  passing  in  the 
course  from  top  to  bottom  respectively 
through  one,  two,  three,  and  four  right  angles. 
Newel  stairs  have  starting  posts  and  inter- 
mediate posts  at  the  commencement  and 
turnings.  A  closed  newel  stair  is  one  with 
newels  one  above  the  other,  and  no  open 
space  between  the  flights.  An  open  newel 
stair  is  a  well-hole  stair  with  newels.  Geo- 
metrical  stairs  have  no  newels,  but  continuous 
strings,  joined  at  the  curves  by  wreaths.  Box 
stairs  are  those  with  two  closed  strings,  en- 
closing the  steps  in  a  kind  of  box.  Dog- 
legged  stairs  have  no  newels,  but  have  a 
forward  and  return  flight,  whose  outer  strings 
and  balustrades  are  immediately  over  each 
other.  Screw  stairs  are  in  the  circular  form, 
with  steps  radiating  from  a  central  newel  (see 
Spiral).  Columnated  stairs  (see  Columnated 
Window  Stairs). 

Stairway,  Stairs,  or  a  set  of  steps  not  enclosed 
in  a  well  or  cage.  Sometimes,  with  doubtful 
correctness,  applied   to   internal   stairs   as  a 


238  GLOSSARY 

separate  portion   of  the  entire  combination 
or  staircase. 

Step,  comprises  (i)  the  tread,  horizontal  or  upper 
part,  and  (2)  the  riser,  vertical,  or  upright 
portion.  Steps  may  be  solid  (also  known  as 
spandrel  or  square),  when  the  tread  and  the 
risers  form  a  right  angle ;  or  they  may  be 
provided  with  a  nosing,  when  the  tread 
projects  beyond  the  riser.  These  projections 
may  be  rounded,  chamfered,  or  moulded. 
Risers  may  be  solid,  or  may  be  open  ;  in  the 
later  case  they  are  in  the  form  of  frames, 
with  the  centre  left  open  to  allow  of  the 
passage  of  light,  or,  in  the  Middle  Age  stairs, 
to  be  used  as  meutrieres.  Fliers  are  steps  of 
uniform  width ;  winders  are  narrower  at  one 
end,  such  as  those  used  in  spirals,  and  for 
forming  curves.  Balanced,  or  dancing  steps 
are  winders  placed  between  two  risers  which 
are  not  normal  to  the  curve,  in  order  to 
reduce  the  reduction  of  the  width.  Bulnosed, 
a  step  with  one  end,  or  both,  projecting 
beyond  the  string  in  semicular  form.  This 
is  somewhat  similar  to  the  curtail  or  scroll 
step,  whose  end,  or  ends,  terminate  in  a  scroll 
or  spiral,  beyond  the  string,  generally  en- 
closing a  newel.  Commode,  a  combination  of 
two  or  more  steps  at  the  end  of  a  flight, 
projecting  beyond  the  string  and  surrounding 
the  newel,  which  it  apparently  supports. 
Hanging  steps  are  stone  steps  with  one  end 


GLOSSARY  239 

built  into  the  wall,  the  other  end  having  no 
other  support  than  that  of  the  step  below. 
A  weathered  step  has  the  upper  surface 
inclined  from  the  plane. 

String,  or  Stringer,  the  inclined  pieces  support- 
ing the  steps.  Those  outside  are  known  as 
face  strings,  those  against  the  wall  as 
rough  strings.  An  open  or  cut  string  has  its 
upper  edge  notched  to  the  shape  of  the 
step,  and  the  close,  closed  or  kerb  string  has 
the  upper  edge  straight.  A  bracket  string 
is  an  open  one  with  bracket-shaped  pieces 
seemingly  supporting  the  step.  In  a  cut  and 
mitred  string,  the  vertical  ends  of  the  notches 
mitre  into  the  ends  of  the  risers.  Housed 
strings  are  carried  above  the  steps. 

SWAN-NECK,  the  "hipped"  part  of  a  handrail, 
adopted  to  adjust  differences  of  level. 
Usually  combines  the  ramp  or  concave, 
and  the  knee  or  convex  bends.  The  same  as 
hipping.     See  also  Ramp. 

Three-Quarter  Turn  Stairs,  see  Stairs. 

Tread,  see  Step. 

Vyse  (from  the  French  vis,  a  screw),  a  term 
applied  to  newel  spiral  staircases. 

Weathered  Step,  see  Step. 

Water  Stairs.  Artificial  stepped  cascades, 
which  may  be  steep  or  of  very  easy  gradient, 
rustic  or  monumental.  In  pisciculture  a  more 
elementary  form  is  used,  called  water  ladder. 
The  term  is  also  applied  to  stairways  leading 


240  GLOSSARY 

to  the  level  of  a  lake,  river,  or  other  water 
expanse. 

Well,  or  Well-Hole,  is  the  clear  space  round 
which  the  stairs  are  carried. 

Wheeling  Stairs,  are  Spirals  (g.v.). 

Winders,  see  Step. 

Winding  Stairs  (sometimes  called  winders),  are 
Spirals  (q.v.). 

Wreath,  is  the  curved  part  of  a  string  or  hand- 
rail following  a  turn  in  a  geometrical  stairs, 
and  is  used  to  secure  continuity. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Banks,  Joseph,  (i)  "An  original,  independent 
and  liberal  treatise  on  staircasing."  London, 
1823.  (2)  "  A  new  and  improved  treatise  on 
handrailing,  in  which  the  various  methods  of 
springing  the  plank  in  different  directions  are 
all  reduced  to  one  simple  system  ....  also 
the  construction  of  staircases  in  general." 
Manchester,  1836. 

ClCOGNARA,  L.  "  Le  fabbriche  e  i  monumenti  di 
Venezia,"  2  vols.  2nd  ed.  Venice,  1838-50. 
Plates  by  Cicognara,  A.  Diedo  and  G.  A. 
Selva,  with  text  by  Cicognara.  This  second 
edition  contains  notes  by  F.  Zanotto.  Re- 
markable for  its  plates  of  the  Scala  di  Giganti, 
the  Scala  d'Oro  and  other  staircases  in  the 
public  buildings  of  Venice. 

Collings,  George.  "A  practical  treatise  in 
handrailing,  showing  new  and  simple  methods 
for  finding  the  pitch  of  the  plank,  drawing 
the  moulds,  bevelling,  jointing-up  and  squar- 
ing the  wreath,"  il  London,  1882. 

COOK,  T.  A.  "  Spirals  in  Nature  and  Art :  a 
study  of  spiral  formations  based  on  the 
manuscripts  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  with 
241 


242  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

special  references  to  the  architecture  of  the 
open  staircase  at  Blois,  in  Touraine,  now  for 
the  first  time  shown  to  be  from  his  designs," 
il.  London,  1903.  An  interesting  scientific 
and  art  study,  with  much  information  on 
spiral  staircases  in  general. 

FOUQUIER,  MARCEL.  "  Les  Grands  Chateaux  de 
France,"  2  vols.  il.  Paris,  1907.  The  illustra- 
tions form  a  valuable  collection  of  architectural 
and  decorative  details. 

De  Graff,  Simon.  "The  Modern  Geometrical 
Stair- Builder's  Guide,"  New  York,  2nd  ed. 
1868. 

GARNIER,  J.  L.  C.  (1)  "£tude  sur  le  Theatre," 
Paris,  1871.  (2)  "Le  Nouvel  OpeVa  de 
Paris,"  2  vols,  text  and  2  vols,  plates,  IL  Paris, 
1878.  The  first  book  contains  a  valuable 
chapter  on  the  theory  and  practice  of  staircase 
building  in  theatres.  The  second  gives  full 
details,  plans  and  illustrations  of  the  grand 
staircase  at  the  Paris  Opera  House. 

GODFREY,  W.  H.  "The  English  Staircase:  an 
historical  account  of  the  characteristic  types 
to  the  end  of  the  18th  century,"  il.  London, 
191 1.  There  are  38  plates  from  photographs 
and  a  number  of  illustrations  from  measured 
drawings  in  the  brief  descriptive  text. 

HEIDELOFF,  Carl.  "Der  Bau  und  Mobel— 
Schreiner  oder  Ebenist,"  il.  Nuremberg,  1832. 
Gives  excellent  working  drawings  of  spiral 
staircases. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  243 

HODGSON,  F.  T.  "  Stair  Buildings  Made  Easy," 
New  York,  1885. 

JOUSSE,  MATHURIN.  (i)  "Theatre  de  l'Art  de 
Carpentier,"  il.  Paris,  1627.  (2)  "  Le  Secret 
d'Architecture,"  il.  Paris,  1642.  Contain 
elaborate  geometric  designs  for  spiral  and 
other  staircases,  with  many  interesting 
details. 

Le  Fevre,  L.  C.  "  Grand  Escalier  du  Chateau 
de  Versailles,  dit  escalier  des  Ambassadeurs, 
ordonne"  et  peint  par  Charles  Le  Brun,  etc.," 
il.  Paris,  1726.  A  series  of  fine  plates  en- 
graved by  L.  Survgue  with  text  by  Le  Fevre. 

Le  Tarouilly,  P.  M.  "  Edifices  de  Rome 
moderne,  ou  recueil  des  palais,  maisons, 
£glises,  couvents  et  autres  monuments 
publiques  et  particuliers  les  plus  remarquable 
de  la  ville  de  Rome,"  3  vols.  il.  Paris,  1840-50. 
Three  large  volumes  of  plates  of  measured 
plans  and  brief  descriptive  text. 

Loth,  C.  Edward.  "The  Practical  Stairs — 
Builder's  Complete  Treatise  on  the  art  of 
Building  Stairs  and  Handrails,"  Troy,  New 
York,  1868,  il.  A  technical  handbook,  pre- 
ceded by  chapters  on  geometry. 

MOWAT,  W.  AND  A.  "A  Treatise  on  Stair 
Building  and  Handrailing,"  il.  London,  1900. 
An  exhaustive  technical  treatise,  admirably 
illustrated  with  working  drawings  and  pictures 
of  old  staircases. 


244  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

NICHOLSON,  P.  "  A  Treatise  on  the  Construction 
of  Staircases  and  Handrails."  39  plans. 
London:  1820.     2nd  ed.    1847. 

Palladio,  Andrea.  "  I  quatro  libri  dell'Archi- 
tettura."    Venice:  1570. 

POCOCK,  WILLIAM.  "Modern  finishings  for 
Rooms  :  A  series  of  designs  for  vestibules, 
halls,  staircases,  etc."  il.  London,  1181. 

RlDDELL,  ROBERT,  (i)  "  Handrailing  Simpli- 
fied." 12  plates  and  10  pages  of  text, 
Philadelphia,  1850.  (2)  "  The  Carpenter  and 
Joiner,  Stairbuilder,  and  Handrailer."  il. 
Edinburgh,  1870. 

SWAN,  Abraham.  "The  British  Architect:  or 
The  Builder's  Treasury  of  Staircases."  Lon- 
don, 1745. 

TlJOU,  Jean  :  (1)  "  Nouveau  livre  de  desseins 
.  .  .  contenant  plusieurs  sorts  d'ouvrages  de 
fer,  comme  portes  .  .  .  rampes  d'escaliers." 
London,  1693.  (2)  "A  New  Booke  of 
Drawings  .  .  .  reproduced  with  the  addition 
of  a  brief  account  of  the  author  and  his  work, 
and  descriptions  of  the  plates,  by  J.  Starkie 
Gardiner."  London,  1896.  Tijou's  book 
appears  with  both  a  French  and  English 
title-page,  and  contains  a  series  of  plates. 
Mr  Gardiner  criticises  the  designs  from  a 
metal  worker's  point  of  view,  and  is  also 
successful  in  identifying  several  of  the 
designs. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  245 

TwiSS,  WILLIAM.  "Handrailing  on  the  block 
system  :  being  a  simple  mechanical  method 
of  constructing  a  wreath  from  the  plan  and 
elevation  of  the  stairs,  without  the  tedious 
mechanical  process  hitherto  used."  Man- 
chester. 1878.  il, 

*%  Consult  also  Britton  and  Pugin,  Chambers, 
Pyne,  Richardson  (for  particulars  see  "  Ceil- 
ings and  their  Decorations "),  Garner  and 
Stratton,  Georgian  Society's  Records,  Shaw, 
Turner  (for  particulars  see  "  Chimneypieces 
and  Ingle-nooks  "  both  in  this  series). 


INDEX 


Adam,  Robert,  James  and 

William,  139 
Albani,  Villa,  221 
Aldobrandini,  Villa,  217 
Amboise,  Chateau,  55 
American  practice,  81,  131, 

211 
Anglo-Saxon  work,  39 
Arboreal  types,  3,  64,  87 
Ashburnham  House,  107 
Ashley,  Mr  H.  V.,  and  Mr 

W.  Newman,  208 
Audley  End,  109 


Babylonia,  i 

Bacon,  Francis,  on  building, 

115 
Barberini,  Palazzo,  97,  220 
Belfast  City  Hall,  191 
Belsay  Castle,  26 
Bernini,  60,  96 
Beverley  Minster,  70 
Blarney  Castle,  51 
Blicking  Hall,  125 
Blois,  Chateau  de,  46,  71 
Blomfield,  Prof.  R.,  197 
Blow,  Mr  Detmar,  and  Mr 

F.  Billerey,  198 
Bologna,    Garisenda   tower 

at,  58 
Borde  Hill,  18 
Borghese,  Palazzo,  60 
Borronomi,  60,  97 


Bowood,  227 

Bramante  and  the  Vatican, 

59 
Braschi,  Palazzo,  98 
Bridgwater  House,  175 
Brickwork,  209 
British  Museum,  173 
Buckley,  Mr  E.  F.  C,  200 
Burgos  Cathedral,  87 
Burleigh  House,  123 
Burney,  Mr  M.,  and  Mr  C. 

S.  Makins,  204 
Burton  Agnes,  119 

Canterbury  :  Castle,  39  ; 

Cathedral,  29 
Caprarola,  60,  217 
Carlton  House,  143 
Carpentras,  Chateau  de,  24 
Carrington  House,  136 
Caserta,  Palazzo  Reale,  101 
Castles  :  Cliff,  4 ;  Norman, 

17 
Cave,  Mr  W.,  203 
Chambers,  Sir  W.,  137 
Chambord,  Chateau  de,  46, 

68 
Charlton  House,  129,  161 
Chateaudun,  63 
Chatsworth,  228 
Cheetham  Hospital,  128 
Chesterfield  House,  138 
Chilham  Castle,  127 
Cliff  Castles,  4 


247 


248 


INDEX 


Colchester  Castle,  38,  40 
Collcutt,  Mr,  190 
"Colonial"   style,  81,   131, 

211 
Colour  schemes,  92,  98,  104, 

no,  129,  180,  186,  199, 

200,  207 
Conisborough  Castle,  22,  40 
Contarini  Palace,  47,  56 
Cook,     Mr     T.     A.,     and 

"Spirals  in  Nature  and 

Art,"  73 
Corbelled  steps,  25 
"  Corded  way  "  of  the  Hindu 

Kush,  9 
Cordonata,  Scala,  54 
Crewe  Hall,  122 
Cromwell  House,  126 


Dacre  Castle,  152 
Davison,  Mr  T.  R.,  197,  205 
Dawber,  Mr  E.  G.,  204 
De  Quincey's  dreams,  10 
Dextral  spirals,  49 
Dorchester  House,  178 
Dordogne    rock    buildings, 

4,  35 
Dover  Castle,  21 
Dover  House,  142 
Dublin  Georgian  staircases, 

I43»  167 
Dunn,  Mr  W.,  and  Mr  R. 

Watson,  206 
Dunster  Castle,  152 


Eastbury    Manor   House, 

r,        52« 

Egyptian  practice,  2 
Eltham  House,  152 
Escalier  a  Jour,  70 
Escourt  House,  Kensington, 
201 


Field,  Mr  H.,  202,  206 
Figures    on  stairs,  65,  82, 

90,  1 18-130,  154 
Flemish  Town  Halls,  80 
Fletcher,  Mr  H.  M.,  206 
Florence  :      Certosa,     52  , 

Bargello,  78;   Lawren- 

ziana,  89 
Fyvie  Castle,  46,  48,  63 

Galleried  Landings,  120 
Gamier,  Charles,  184,  195 
Genoa  :  University  of,  90 ; 

Palazzo  Durazzo,  100 
George,  Mr  Ernest,  205 
Giant's  Causeway,  3 
Gibbon,  Grinling,  107,  III, 

156 
Glasgow,   Mitchell  Library 

at,  192 
Gould,  Rev.  S.  Baring,  on 

Rock-dwelling  stairs,  4, 
Gothic  work,  38,  44,  46,  54, 

77>  83,  85 
Gothic  Revival,  171 
Godinton,  118 
Grecian  practice,  12,  95 
Guildford  Castle,  40 

Hall,  Mr  G.  T.,  195 
Hampton  Court  Palace,  109 
Hatfield  House,  123 
Hedingham  Castle,  23,  40 
Heidelberg  Castle,  219 
Herrenchiensee  Palace,  105 
Hipping,  156 
Holland  House,  228 
Hunt,  Mr  W.,  and  Mr  E. 
Hunt,  209 

Inclined  Planes,  36 
Ingestre  Hall,  230 
Ironwork  balustrades,   163, 
228 


INDEX 


249 


I  sola  Bella,  218 

Jones,  Inigo,  106, 131,  155, 

229 
Jousse,  Mathurin,  67 


Kensington  Palace,  109 
Kersal  College,  127 
Kirkby  Muxloe  Castle,  49 
Kitson,  Mr  S.  D.,  206 
Knickerbocker  influence,  81 
Knowle,  125 

Ladder  steps,  9 

Langley  Castle,  44 

La  Roche  Brune,  34 

La  Roche  Corail,  6 

La  Roche  Gageac,  4 

Le  Blond,  223 

Leiper,  Mr  W.,  202 

Le  Notre,  223 

Le  Tarouilly,  99 

Lighting,  196 

Linlithgow  Palace,  48 

London  :  Westminster  Pa- 
lace, 39;  Ashburnham 
House,  107  ;  Kensing- 
ton Palace,  109  ;  Crom- 
well House,  126 ;  Car- 
rington  House,  136 ; 
Chesterfield  House,  138; 
Trinity  House,  138 ; 
Dover  House,  142 ; 
Carlton  House,  143 ; 
British  Museum,  173 ; 
Bridgewater  House, 
175  ;  Dorchester  House, 
178  ;  Old  Bailey,  190; 
Holland  House,  228. 
See  also  Victoria  and 
Albert  Museum. 

Londonderry  House,  176 

Louvre,  Paris,  43,  65 


Lucas,  Mr  G.,  205 
Luton  Park,  141 
Lutyens,  Mr  E.  L.,  205,  207 
210 

Mainz  Cathedral,  75 
Mansards,  The,  102 
Meutrieres,  pierced  steps,  30 
Milne,  Mr  O.  P.,  208 
Montargis  Castle,  30 
Moreton  Hall,  85 
Morlaix  staircase,  85 
Morphew,  Mr  R.,  203 
Mountford,  Mr  E.  W.,  190 
Murray,  Mr  J.,  214 

Newels,  35,  39,  48,  i$4 
Norman  Castles,  17 
Norwich  Castle,  22 
Notre  Dame,  Paris,  27 
Nottingham      rock      hewn 
steps,  8 

Old  Bailey,  190 
Outside  stairways,  18,  80 

Palladio's  works  and  in- 
influence,  88,  92,  95, 
102,  121,  131 

Palmieri,  Villa,  217 

Paris  :  Notre  Dame,  27  ; 
Chambre  des  Comptes, 
29  :  Hotel  de  Bour- 
gogne,  64 ;  Church  of 
the  Bernadins,  66  ;  St 
Etienne  du  Mont,  75  ; 
Palais  Royal,  106  ; 
Grand  Opera  House, 
184 

Pierrefonds,  Chateau  de,  70 

Piranesi's  staircase  dreams 
10 

Pisa,  Leaning  Tower  of,  57 

Pompeian  stairs,  13,  146 


2$<D 


INDEX 


Rake  House,  Witley,  117 
Raymond  du    Temple,  43, 

65 
Reinforced  concrete,  213 
Renaissance  work,    54,  62, 

87,95,  102,  159 
Rochester  Castle,  19,  39 
Romanesque    builders,    17, 

54,62 
Roman  practice,  12 
Rome  :    Vatican,     59,    96  ; 
Palazzo    Barberini,    97, 
220  ;    Palazzo  Braschi, 
98  ;  Modern  staircases, 

99 
Rose,  Mr  A.  W.,  209 
Rouen  :     Jacques     Cceur's 

house,    85 ;    cathedral, 

87 
Round  Towers  of  Ireland,  7 

St  Alban's  Abbey  Church, 

53 
Santi,  Villa,  229 
Saaval   and   his   "  Histoire 

et  Antiquity's  de  Paris," 

66 
Scala  del  Bovolo,  47.    56. 

74;  Cordonata,  54;  dei 

Giganti,  81  ;  Santa,  97 
Scarborough  Castle,  23 
Sinistral    spiral    staircases, 

50,72 
Sion  House.  141 
Slyfield,  122 
Spanish  staircases,  23 
Spiral  stairs,  9,  34,  55  J   m 

columns,  53 
Syria,  Roman  stairs  in,  14 

Tantallon  Castle,  51 
Tattershall  Castle,  48,  51 
Tel-lo,  steps  at  the  Palace 


Theatre  staircases,  184-8 
Thomas,  Sir  A.  B.,  191 
Thorpe,  John,  109 
Tijou,  Jean,  no,  166 
Torlonia  Villa,  218 
Trinity  House,  London,  138 
Troglodytes'  stairs,  3 
Tuileries  Gardens,  225 
Turin  :    Palazzo    Madama, 
101 


Upsala,  75 

Vatican  :  Bramante's 

spiral      staircase,     59 ; 

Scala  Regia,  96 
Venice :   Companile    of    St 

Mark,    55  ;    Scala    del 

Bovolo,    47,     56,     74; 

Scala  dei  Giganti,   81  ; 

Golden  Staircase,  83 
Verity,  Mr  F.  J.,  162 
Versailles,  Palace  of,  102 
Vignola,  60 
Victoriaand  Albert  Museum, 

84,    85,    112,    162,    167, 

190 
Voysey,  Mr  C.  F.  X.,  204 

Wade,  Mr  F.  B.,  202 
Ware,  Isaac,  135 
Webb,  Sir  Aston,  160 
Wedge  steps,  26 
Wenlock  Abbey,  51 
Westminster  Palace,  39 
Whitchurch,  53 
White,  Mr  W.  B.,  192 
Windsor  Castle,  33,  35,  172 
Wright,  Mr  F.  L.,  212 
Wren,  Sir  Christopher,  109 

Zigzag  Steps,  27,  54 


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RECEIVED 

OCT  n  1995 

CIRPill  ATIOM  DFI 

>T 

i . 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6                                 BERKELEY,  CA  94720             @$ 

I  '  yf 


Diii 


